France passes watered-down legislation to curb fast fashion

Some have hailed the anti-fast-fashion law as “historic,” while others say that it misses the mark. On the eve of a new tax on small parcels entering the European Union, effective July 1, lawmakers passed the bill to “reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry” in the Sénat on Monday, June 29. This came two years after its initial reading in the Assemblée Nationale, when center-right MP Anne-Cécile Violland introduced the proposal on behalf of the committee for sustainable development and regional planning.

In the meantime, the bill – which introduces a penalty for clothing sold by fashion retailers – was repeatedly amended. Changes first came in the Sénat committee in March 2025, followed by negotiations in a joint committee, and finally by last-minute amendments from the government during sessions in the Assemblée Nationale on June 24 and in the Sénat on June 29.

What remains of a law intended to slow the growth of new clothing sales – often produced in Asia with a heavy carbon footprint and sold at low prices – by imposing a tax? The government, which supported the bill, had said it wanted to “make fast fashion unfashionable.” Implementation decrees were expected in fall 2024, with the law set to take effect in 2025. That did not happen. Still, “the text survived five revisions and [the] dissolution” of June 2024, Violland noted during its review at the Palais-Bourbon [the meeting place of the Assemblée Nationale] on June 24.

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