France's Senate debates bill to regulate influx of low-quality clothes

The National Assembly, the lower house, adopted a version of the so-called ‘fast fashion’ bill in March last year, but a commission in the Senate sought some changes to better target Chinese clothing brands.

The bill will introduce sanctions on companies based on the environmental impact of their clothes. National Assembly members approved pegging these sanctions to so-called eco-labelling, but senators, in agreement with the government, scrapped that measure in a commission reading, as per global media reports.

Senators instead want to calculate punitive measures according to the sustainability and commercial practices of e-commerce platforms, arguing this would enable more regulations for e-commerce websites, and reduce adverse effects for French and other European businesses.

The proposed law would define ‘fast fashion’ according to production rates, collection turnover, the lifespan of clothes and ‘poor incentives’ to repair them.

It would be mandatory for firms producing such throwaway items to inform customers about the environmental cost of buying their products.

Thirty five apparel items are thrown away in the country every second, according to the French environment agency.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)