France Says No To Ultra Fast Fashion. Will The World Follow?

This month, France continued its war on fast fashion with new amendments to a climate bill that will impose penalties on ultra-fast fashion giants. It’s one of the boldest policy moves yet from a major fashion market, sending a clear message that the era of unchecked disposable fashion may be coming to an end.

But let’s not kid ourselves. This is not an outright ban on fast fashion. It’s not the end of cheap, mass-produced clothes flooding Europe. Instead, it’s a pointed refinement—an attempt to slow the ‘ultra-fast’ brands, by which it means the hyper-accelerated business models of brands like Shein and Temu. Although US tariffs have taken a shot at slowing them down, they’re still churning out thousands of new styles at rock-bottom prices.

It’s important to understand what’s really changing and what isn’t. And it raises a deeper question: is this the start of a global regulatory shift? Or just a symbolic stand by one government trying to catch up with an industry that has outrun policy for decades?

A Law That Actually Names Names

France’s move isn’t starting completely from scratch. This is a targeted amendment to its existing anti-waste and circular economy laws which have been rolling out since 2020. The new text proposes environmental penalties on ultra-fast fashion products sold in France, with fines that escalate for companies whose business model relies on hyperproduction.

It also includes advertising restrictions aimed at brands aggressively marketing ultra-cheap, disposable trends. It’s no accident that Shein and Temu are the poster children in public debate around this bill. Their data-heavy, algorithm-fuelled systems have made them among the biggest retailers in the world, with Shein making $38bn in Revenue in 2024 – and rising. From that perspective, this law feels logical and reasonable, in a world where consumers could be encouraged more to support smaller, independent businesses.

But crucially, this law doesn’t target all fast fashion equally. Traditional mass-market players (Zara, H&M, Boohoo), aren’t directly in the firing line, even though their production models also rely on speed, volume, and cheap outsourced labour. Many of these brands also manufacture and import from China, but face different restrictions with the amendment of this bill.

Why This Bill Matters

This is one of the most direct examples yet of a government tackling the unsustainable economics of hyper-fast fashion head-on.

Fashion is responsible for roughly 10% of global carbon emissions. It generates over 90 million tonnes of textile waste every year. And most recycling schemes are still small-scale, unable to keep up with the sheer volume of cheap and short-use clothing flowing through the system.

In that context, France’s move is both a practical and symbolic line in the sand. It acknowledges that voluntary industry commitments and consumer pressure alone aren’t enough. Regulation has to be part of the answer.

This is especially striking coming from France—one of the world’s fashion capitals. It is meaningful that a country that built cultural and economic power on its fashion industry is now willing to legislate its worst excesses.

Market Correction Doesn’t Happen Overnight

But why has it taken so long? Fast fashion has been an open secret for two decades. Fashion brands sell us the myth of personal style, but in practice they’ve trained consumers to expect a never-ending cycle of newness, with $5 dresses landing at your door in days.

Existing Fashion regulation simply wasn’t built to keep up. Ultra-fast fashion, in particular, relies on digital-first supply chains that move too quickly for traditional oversight. Add in powerful corporate lobbying and the fact that consumers like cheap clothes and no one was quick to enact change. Incremental sustainability commitments, small capsule collections, ESG marketing—none of it has meaningfully slowed the industry’s growth in emissions or waste. This is an attempt to regulate what the market won’t correct on its own.

But let’s be honest – France’s proposal is a first step, not a final fix. It’s a recognition that voluntary commitments won’t cut it. A recognition that brands won’t slow down production or clean up their supply chains unless there’s a cost to business as usual. But the penalties are modest (a few euros per item), and there will be plenty of debates about enforcement.

Regulation also can’t do everything. A small price increase or marketing restriction won’t dismantle decades of consumer conditioning to demand more, cheaper, faster. The truth is that hyper-consumption is a cultural problem as much as a business one. And that’s not just a China or mainstream fashion problem. Even luxury brands produce multiple seasonal lines to create artificial scarcity and churn.

Who Gets Targeted—and Who Doesn’t

One question that deserves more attention: why are Shein, Temu, and Aliexpress the headline villains here, while other giants get less direct scrutiny?

It is convenient to frame the problem as an external threat, even when European and American brands have built their own fortunes on the same exploitation of cheap overseas labour. Many mainstream fast fashion brands also rely on low-wage manufacturing hubs and relentless production cycles.

If regulation is going to be credible, it needs to ask tough questions about all players. Not just the newest, most visible targets.

Other Countries Are Watching

France’s move is already making waves. It could become a blueprint for other nations grappling with fast fashion’s impact on climate goals.

In the US, New York State proposed its own Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act. That bill would impose mandatory supply chain disclosures and environmental targets for large brands selling in the state. It’s far from perfect, but it signals growing willingness to legislate what brands can’t, or won’t, change on their own.

If France can introduce these measures, even with a globally influential fashion industry with strong lobbying power, what excuse do other major markets have?

What Is The Future For Fashion?

For brands, this is a clear signal. The era of endless growth through cheap, disposable trends is under pressure. It’s time to invest in traceable supply chains, circular business models, and designs built to last – as standard.

For investors, there’s a warning too. ESG risk isn’t just about emissions or waste, regulation risk is very possible too now. Brands that fail to adapt and comply could find themselves shut out of key markets, or stuck with stranded inventory they can’t affordably sell.

For consumers? Change is coming, but slowly. Prices may rise. Choice may narrow. The fantasy of a constantly refreshed wardrobe delivered in days may fade. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but it will be an adjustment.

A First Step, Not the Last

France’s new rules won’t fix fashion overnight. They don’t ban fast fashion outright. They’re not going to make Shein or Temu disappear.

But they’re important because they make the cost of hyper-fast, disposable fashion explicit. They put policy on the table as a real lever for change—rather than leaving the problem to marketing campaigns or vague greenwashing promises, which are an area equally difficult to tackle.

If we’re serious about building a more sustainable fashion industry, this has to be just the beginning. More countries need to follow. And the conversation can’t stop at blaming foreign upstarts—it needs to confront the entire model of overproduction and overconsumption that props up the industry everywhere.

Because if there’s one truth the fashion world keeps trying to avoid, it’s that real change won’t be cheap. But the cost of doing nothing is even higher.