Should we ban fast fashion?

The French think so, but how will they do it? And does that make the 'right' to fashion a sin?

Please note this is an uncensored version of an article that I wrote for The Guardian this Sunday. I let rip in this version.

It was a pair of $0 faux fur boots that signalled a new bottom for the fast fashion industry last week. Spotted on an Instagram ad for new US customers, it was the latest in an aggressive campaign by Chinese retailer Temu to win market share. Just when you thought fashion couldn’t get any more disposable - it just did. 

Shein and Temu are the two massive discount retailers recently unleashed from the East, both involved in a race to the bottom. ‘Cheap, cheaper, cheapest’ is their POV, and they need as big an audience as possible to make that gig work. Temu took out several ads in the Superbowl last month, promising viewers that they could Shop Like a Billionaire. Superbowl airtime costs US$7m per 30 second slot, which shows you just how intentional this company is. With a free pair of gross fluffy boots thrown in.

But fast fashion may have hit a roadblock: last week French ministers unanimously approved a bill in their Lower Parliament to impose increasing penalties on fast fashion products, of up to €10 on each item of clothing by 2030.