François Maingret

In a previous article, I wrote about ultra-fast fashion, specifically on how France is trying to limit its impact on the environment with new regulations. We’ve seen how unsustainable fast fashion can be, with Americans tossing out a whopping 34 billion pounds of used clothes each year—that’s over 100 pounds per person!

What can be done about Shein? Let’s be realistic, Shein is the target of France’s proposed regulations. Bans or taxes sound good on paper, but they don’t completely eliminate the problem and tend to frustrate customers. Making local brands cheaper so they can compete with Shein (through new processes, innovation, or worse, lower taxes or subsidies) may help local economies, but this wouldn’t do much in terms of sustainability. Greenwashing and shaming customers isn’t ideal either, and won’t win any fans.

Are we stuck in a never-ending cycle of buying and trashing clothes, until we drown in used t-shirts? Thousands of new designs are released every day, and Shein sales are supercharged by influencers and social media. However, I believe we shouldn’t throw in the towel just yet. Ecommerce has come a long way in the last 20 years, and there are some impressive innovations that could help us shop smarter and more sustainably. So let’s see what our options are, and how some successful entrepreneurs are already addressing the fast-fashion problem by offering solid alternatives.