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Written by Manoëlle Dousson - Article published in December 2025, updated in July 2026
📌 Key takeaways
- A model at the end of its rope: fast fashion has become ultra-fast fashion, with millions of tons of clothing produced and discarded each year, a massive dependence on oil (synthetic fibers), and repeated health and social scandals.
- A major regulatory turning point: the CSRD, the European textile strategy, the textile REP, and the French “anti-fast fashion” law are gradually makingthe model based on overproduction, greenwashing, and opacitymore costly and risky.
- A competitive advantage for responsible players: brands and marketplaces capable ofproving their CSR performance (traceability, eco-design, working conditions, chemical management) will be the ones thatgain the trustof customers, regulators, and investors.
- Circular fashion as a strategic horizon: second-hand, rental, repair, upcycling, CSR scoring… Transitioning from a linear model to a circular model is no longer a “nice to have,” but a strategic choice to secure one’s business model and meet the expectations of both consumers and regulators.
Fast fashion, Shein, and anti-fast fashion law: what if we finally switched to circular fashion?
Every year in the European Union, 12 million tons of textiles are thrown away – new or used (All of Europe, 2025). This represents about12kg of textile waste per person per year.
In parallel, the global textile industry sells over 100 billion garments each year and generates nearly 4 billion tons of CO₂e – more than international aviation and maritime transport combined according to some estimates.
For a long time, these figures remained abstract. But recent news –record fines against Shein, French “anti-fast fashion” law, new European rules on textiles– shows that a turning point is underway: the disposable fashion model is now openly challenged.
What if we concretely movedfrom a linear economy to a circular fashion economy? ?
From fast fashion to ultra fast fashion: Shein, a symptom of a system at its breaking point
Since the 1990s, fast fashion has disrupted ready-to-wear: Zara, H&M, and other brands have accustomed the market to collections refreshed every two to three weeks. The goal is to:react in real-time to trends, while driving costs down as much as possible.
AWith Shein and Temu, we've moved on to a new stage: ultra fast fashion.
The principle of the ultra fast fashion model
- thousands of new references launched online every dayextremely low prices,,
- fragmented production through a large network of subcontractors,
- a 100% data-driven model that tests micro-series and immediately relaunches viral products.
- This model relies on three key ingredients:
The three key ingredients:
In Europe,
- 4 million tons of textiles are wasted every year; 80% of clothing is thrown away, only 20% is recycled.Globally,
- 92 million tons of textiles are thrown away every year, with a potential trajectory of 148 million tons by 2030 if nothing changes.Strong dependence on synthetic materials
Synthetic fibers (polyester, nylon, etc.) overwhelmingly dominate textile production. Their production and washing release
- plastic microfibers:microfibres plastiques :"20% of water pollution in the world is thus attributable to dyeing and processing of textiles" (National Assembly, 2024).
Health impacts and repeated scandals
- In 2024, the authorities in Seoul uncoveredlevels of toxic substances (phthalates, heavy metals)sometimeshundreds of times above legal limitsin Shein and Temu products.
- In November 2025, a new report from Greenpeace Germany shows that 32% of the 56 Shein garments tested exceed European limits for hazardous chemicals (phthalates, PFAS, etc.), including in children's clothing.Le Figaro, 2024)
These cases illustrate what NGOs and scientists have long denounced:the quest for "always faster, always cheaper" comes at the expense of health, climate, water, biodiversity, and human rights.
A realization that is finally translating into rules
CSRD, European textile strategy and extended producer responsibility
Awareness is no longer just citizen or activist: it is nowregulatory.
- TheCSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive)gradually imposes thousands of European companies – including many fashion brands and marketplaces – to publish detailed information abouttheir environmental and social impacts, their risks, and their governance.
- In 2022, the European Commission adopted the Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, with a clear goal: by 2030, all textiles placed on the EU market must be sustainable, repairable, recyclable, and largely made from recycled fibers.
- In 2025, the EU adopted a directive establishing aextended producer responsibility (EPR) for textiles: brands – including online platforms selling in the EU – will have to finance thecollection, sorting, and recyclingof textiles placed on the market.
In practical terms, this means:
- Additional costs for the largest players, including ultra fast fashion, as they will pay for the end-of-life of the products they flood the market with;
- Aneconomic incentive to design more sustainable, repairable, and recyclable products, under the threat of seeing contributions skyrocket;
- Anincreased requirement for transparencyon supply chains, chemistry, emissions, and waste.
The French "anti fast fashion" law: bonus-malus, advertising, and targeting ultra fast fashion
In parallel, France is moving forward with a law specifically designed for fast fashion. Theproposed law aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of the textile industry, known as the “anti fast fashion” law, was unanimously adopted by the National Assembly in March 2024 and then widely approved by the Senate in June 2025.
It notably includes:
A definition of “ultra express fashion”(ultra fast fashion), targeting platforms that:
- put very large volumes of references on the market,
- renew their collections at an extreme pace,
- practice abnormally low prices.
A bonus-malus systemon the textile REP sector, based on a sustainability and environmental impact index:
- amalus that could reach €10 per item by 2030, with thresholds starting in 2025, for ultra fast fashion products;
- abonus for virtuous actors(more local production, better sustainability, repairability, less impactful materials).
- The prohibition of advertising for ultra fast fashion.(including through influencers), in order to limit incentives for overconsumption.
3. And for marketplaces: how to evaluate and sort brands?
In this context, marketplaces (fashion, lifestyle, sports, decor…) are faced with a new responsibility:
No longer just "letting sell," but making decisions based on the CSR performance of their sellers.
This is precisely where structured evaluation tools for corporate responsibility (CSR) come into play. Positive Company® has developed a CSR evaluation tool that allows marketplaces to assess their suppliers. This is particularly the work done byLa RedouteandCdiscount!
The principle is:
-
A questionnaire tailored to the size of the company
The requirements are not the same for a micro-enterprise, a small and medium-sized enterprise, or a mid-sized company: the framework isgraduatedaccording to maturity and available resources. An evaluation aligned with ISO 26000
Brands are evaluated on 5 major themes derived from the international standard ISO 26000:
- activity and business model,
- governance,
- social (working conditions, human rights),
- environment (climate, resources, pollution, waste),
- societal (relationships with communities, local anchoring, customers).
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Supporting evidence
Responses must be supported by documents: charters, contracts, reports, minutes, internal policies, etc. The goal is toreduce the declarativein favor of evidence. An expert rating and analysis
The Positive Company® team assigns an overall score and by theme, which allows:
- the marketplace tohighlight the most responsible brands,
- topenalize(or support) those that are the least scrupulous,
- todrive a supply strategyconsistent with new regulatory and consumer expectations.
In a context where Shein is penalized for misleading practices and greenwashing, a marketplace's ability toshow that it has audited and selected its sellersbecomes a realcompetitive advantage, but also aregulatory lifeline.
Ready to structure the CSR assessment of your suppliers?
Positive Company® a développé Scoring by Positive, un outil d'évaluation RSE qui permet aux marketplaces d'évaluer leurs fournisseurs (sans facturer la démarche aux fournisseurs eux-mêmes), contrairement à d'autres solutions du marché. C'est notamment le travail effectué par La Redoute et Cdiscount !
Discover how works Scoring by Positive®❓ FAQ - Fast Fashion
Fast fashion renews its collections every two to three weeks with large volumes at low cost. Ultra fast fashion (Shein, Temu) takes it further: thousands of new items every day, micro-series tested in real time, rock-bottom prices, and production spread across hundreds of subcontractors.
Because Shein concentrates several risks: a colossal volume of products put on the market, abnormally low prices, misleading business practices, and repeated alerts about the presence of hazardous chemicals — 32% of tested items exceeding European limits according to Greenpeace Germany (November 2025).
Circular fashion relies on fewer but more durable products, second-hand items, rental, repair, and upcycling, as well as design intended to last and be recycled. It stands in contrast to the linear model, which generates 92 million tons of textile waste annually worldwide.
By relying on a structured assessment tool aligned with the ISO 26000 standard, covering the business model, governance, social, environmental, and societal aspects. Responses must be supported by supporting documents to limit self-reporting. This allows for the prioritization of brands according to their CSR maturity and the management of a responsible offering strategy.
La CSRD oblige progressivement des milliers d'entreprises européennes (dont des marques et marketplaces) à publier des informations détaillées sur leurs impacts environnementaux et sociaux. Pour le secteur textile, cela implique une exigence accrue de traçabilité des chaînes d'approvisionnement et de reporting sur les conditions de travail des sous-traitants.
Are you a marketplace or a client in the fashion or retail sector?
Scoring by Positive allows you to assess the CSR performance of your suppliers and vendors — without charging them for the process.
Discover the evaluation CSR suppliers🔗 Sources :
- Bruneau de la Salle, M.Ultra fast fashion: a reflection of the excesses of the industry, the political-economic issues, and the urgency of legislative action, ISIGE Mines Paris-PSL, September 2025.
Read the article - Duff, L.Is Shein unfairly hated?YouTube, November 2025.
Watch the video - Le Parisien.Press article on the rise of ultra fast fashion and platforms like Shein.National daily, June 2025.
Read the article - European Commission.Strategy for sustainable and circular textiles.Communication from the European Commission, Brussels, June 2023.
Consult the report - European Parliament.Parliament adopts new rules to reduce textile and food waste.Press release, Strasbourg, September 2025.
Read the press release - Assemblée nationale (France). Loi visant à réduire l’impact environnemental de l’industrie textile (dite “loi anti fast-fashion”). Dossier législatif, Assemblée nationale, mars 2024.
Consult the article from the National Assembly - Senate.Bill aimed at reducing environmental impact, 2025
Consult the article from the National Assembly