Ultra-fast fashion: French retailers demand the delisting of Shein and Temu

War has been declared. While a bill (PPL) targeting Shein and Temu was examined on Monday, June 2, in the Senate, a large majority of French merchants have joined forces to launch an offensive against the sites of the Asian giants . In an open letter addressed to the government, they demand the delisting of these platforms. "8% to 95% of the products offered on Temu, Shein and AliExpress do not comply with the standards in force in the EU," denounced the French Trade Council (CDCF) and the Confederation of French Commerce (CCF), citing figures from European surveys, in a press release on Tuesday, June 3.

On Monday, these two representative federations, along with 14 others and more than 230 brands (around 80% of the sector), asked the government, via the French Fraud Control Agency (DGCCRF), to "immediately initiate a procedure to delist" Shein, Temu and AliExpress. "French law already provides the means for action," the two signatory federations believe, not seeming to want to wait for the final version of the PPL targeting fast fashion .

They also point out that "the Consumer Code allowed the DGCCRF, in the event of serious and persistent breaches, to order the delisting, suspension or even blocking of access to a site." Before insisting: "A French retailer who sold 94% of non-compliant products, 66% of which were due to danger, would be closed immediately."

Investigation

Contacted by AFP, the office of the Minister of Commerce, Véronique Louwagie, assured that the latter is examining "this request with the greatest attention, in close collaboration with her departments." For its part, Shein assured AFP that it is investing "€13 million this year for product safety and compliance, including 2.5 million product safety and quality tests (a 25% increase compared to last year)." The company also highlights its "partnerships with 15 internationally recognized testing agencies."

Attacks are multiplying in the face of the meteoric rise of these two players in ultra-fast fashion and e-commerce, accused of encouraging overconsumption, environmental pollution and unfair competition against European companies.

On Monday, the Senate spent considerable time discussing the draft law, which includes a ban on advertising for these companies, financial penalties, and an obligation to raise consumer awareness of the environmental impact of their clothing.

On this occasion, the president of the Women's Ready-to-Wear Federation, Yann Rivoallan, hammered the point home: "I think we should ban these companies altogether." " If these products are dangerous , why can consumers buy them?" he asked on RTL. In the absence of a ban, he advocates at least "a tax like the one we implemented in the United States." Washington had introduced customs duties of 120% in May, targeting packages from Asian sellers such as Temu, Shein or AliExpress, now reduced to 54%.

For retailers in France, "the threat is not just security-related." "These platforms evade VAT, avoid customs duties, circumvent sales periods, and violate labeling and commercial transparency rules," according to the CCF and CDCF.

In addition to US tariffs, the "fast fashion" PPL, and delisting requests, the European Union is also trying to stem the phenomenon. The European Commission recently proposed imposing a fee of €2 on each "small" packages entering Europe - currently exempt from customs duties - the vast majority of which come from China.

To date, in France, large Asian platforms represent 22% of parcels delivered by La Poste, according to the head of the French public group, Philippe Wahl, whereas they accounted for "less than 5% five years ago."

The same exponential trend is observed in Europe, where in 2024, around 4.6 billion low-value shipments (91% of which come from China) will have entered the market, a figure that will have doubled compared to 2023 and tripled compared to 2022, the European Commission warns.