Photo for illustration. (Photo: Arnaud Finistre / AFP).
French authorities said on Wednesday they had imposed two new fines totaling more than €22m (about R460m) on online fashion retailer Shein over problems with product traceability, environmental labeling and delivery times.
The latest fines bring the total amount that France has already imposed on the Asian fashion giant to more than €210 million (approximately R4.4 billion).
Shein, which is based in Singapore, said it contested the fines, arguing they were “disproportionate” and that no harm to consumers had been proven.
The company has been under increasing pressure ever since its establishment in France. Last year, the discovery of child-like sex dolls on the platform sparked outrage and led to heightened scrutiny by the French government.
Serge Papin, France’s trade minister, said certain e-commerce platforms are trying to evade the country’s regulations.
“It’s unfair competition, and I’m fighting against it,” he wrote on X.
He added that after the discovery of the controversial dolls, France decided not to let such platforms continue with impunity.
The fines follow an investigation by France’s consumer protection agency, the DGCCRF, into several e-commerce platforms based mainly outside Europe.
A first fine of €5.77 million (approximately R120 million) is Infinite Style Ecommerce Co. Ltd. (ISEL), which handles Shein’s sales, imposed. According to the agency, the company failed to properly apply the mandatory 14-day waiting period for free returns.
(Foto: Unsplash)
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The agency also accuses Shein of failing to provide mandatory traceability information, including where clothes were woven, dyed and manufactured. In addition, the presence of microplastics in material is believed not to have been disclosed.
Microplastics, mainly found in polyester, are released into water systems during every machine wash and are considered a serious environmental threat.
A further fine of €16.73 million (approximately R347 million) was imposed on Shein’s subsidiary Infinite Styles Services Limited (ISSL) for alleged breaches of consumer law.
Shein rejected the findings, saying there had never been any doubt about the fairness of transactions on its platform or the quality and safety of its products and services.
After the controversy over the sex dolls, Shein said the products were immediately removed from its marketplace and that sex dolls were banned from its website worldwide.
Activists and politicians have long accused Shein of fueling environmental pollution, promoting unfair competition, selling products that do not meet basic regulations and maintaining poor working conditions in Chinese factories.
France already fined Shein €40 million (approximately R830 million) in July last year after authorities found the company had misled consumers about discounted prices and the environmental impact of its operations.