France Imposes Fast Fashion Levies Targeting Shein and Temu

Sun Sep 06 2026 05:16:01 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

France starts a per‑garment levy on ultra‑fast fashion brands, with fees that could reach €19.50 by 2030, to curb cheap clothing sales.

France has introduced a new levy on ultra‑fast fashion items, aimed at curbing the sale of cheap garments sold by e‑commerce giants such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress. The law, passed in June, sets per‑item fees that scale with the volume of sales and repairability of the pieces, reaching up to €19.50 by 2030. While retailers like H&M and Zara are exempted, the fees threaten to raise consumer prices and draw accusations of unfair trade barriers from China’s commerce ministry. The French government argues the levy will mitigate environmental damage and protect the national economy, and has already taken steps to block Shein’s website and open a physical store in Paris.

France has started imposing a levy on fast fashion items, a move that could bring the cost of a single garment close to €20 next decade as the government seeks to curb the surge of ultra‑cheap clothing sold by internet giants.

The fee, which began on Tuesday, follows a June law that targets companies such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress, placing the burden on firms that push huge volumes of inexpensive apparel.

French authorities tout the levy as a response to the ‘harmful effects of ultra‑fast fashion’ on both the environment and the economy, highlighting concerns over rapid production cycles and poor repairability of garments.

China’s commerce ministry has warned that the French law is discriminatory, a claim the country fears may violate World Trade Organization principles. The fee was designed with two criteria: the total market volume a retailer places and the repair cost relative to purchase price.

Under the new scale, a pair of underwear would carry a €0.50 levy, a T‑shirt €2, a pair of jeans €9 and a jacket €12 in 2026, with a ceiling set at 50% of the product’s pre‑tax price. By 2030 the maximum fee could reach €19.50 per item.

While large European chains like H&M and Zara are exempt, the measure could see customers pay more for goods from the targeted e‑commerce giants, a stance that has already prompted the French ministry to block Shein’s website and set up a physical store in Paris next year.

Shein, corporately based in Singapore but founded in China, has seen its market valuation rise to $26.2bn after its Hong Kong stock market debut. The company has faced scrutiny over supply‑chain ethics, trade tensions and the impact of the new legislation on French consumers already dealing with a cost‑of‑living crisis.

The French government under Minister Mathieu Lefevre has defended the levy as necessary to address the environmental and economic harms linked to ultra‑fast fashion, even as it faces criticism from China and other global partners.