France has introduced world-first laws taking direct aim at ultra-fast fashion, banning social media and influencer advertising for the category and charging retailers a per-item fee. Shein and Temu are the obvious targets.
How the fees actually work
Charges range from around 24 Australian cents on basic items like socks up to roughly $22.57 on coats, capped at half the pre-tax price, with the fee formula factoring in volume, price and repairability. The fees are set to rise further by 2030.
Why Shein specifically
Shein lists more than 2 million items and adds around 4,700 new products a day. French Commerce Minister Serge Papin summed up the government's reasoning: these platforms "sell at low prices, yet their products often fail to meet standards and lack durability."
How Australia compares
French shoppers bought about 43 textile items per person in 2025. Australians bought 56. Australia's only real lever is the voluntary Seamless scheme and its 4-cent garment levy, and just eight of 30 major fashion brands have signed on. More than 200,000 tonnes of clothing still end up in Australian landfill every year.
Read the full story from ABC News, 3 September 2026.
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Buying less and buying better isn't just a fashion problem, it's a bathroom cabinet problem too.