Prohibited commercial practices and environmental characteristics: SHEIN receives historic fine

At the same time, ISEL was fined 1.098 million euros for non-compliance with obligations to provide information on the environmental qualities and characteristics of waste-generating products.

Context

On May 27, 2025, the DGCCRF issued a press release announcing that the European Commission had opened proceedings against the online platform SHEIN.

This initiative follows a joint investigation by the Commission, in coordination with the national authorities of four Member States, including France.

The investigation led to the denunciation of several potentially misleading or abusive commercial practices:

• the use of false discounts;
• pressure-to-purchase mechanisms (countdowns, limited offers, etc.);
• disseminating misleading information (particularly on consumer rights, return procedures or the environmental characteristics of products);
• a lack of transparency regarding certain essential information, such as how to contact the platform.

ISEL was then given one month to respond to the findings, as its reaction would determine the outcome of the procedure, and in particular the possible application of financial penalties.

Deceptive commercial practices

Sanctions were not long in coming, and following a settlement procedure, ISEL agreed to pay a fine of 40 million euros for deceptive commercial practices which, according to a statement by the company to AFP, had already been the subject of corrective measures.

According to a press release from the DGCCRF, ISEL misled consumers about the reality of the discounts they could benefit from, with ads featuring “crossed-out prices” and tempting permanent promotions. In reality, 57% of the ads checked offered no price reduction at all, 19% offered a smaller reduction than advertised, while 11% included price increases.

On the one hand, a promotion is, by its very nature, necessarily temporary. An offer presented as a promotion but renewed on a permanent or quasi-permanent basis is likely to constitute a misleading commercial practice, if it is likely to mislead the consumer as to the exceptional or limited nature of the advantage offered.

On the other hand, the French Consumer Code strictly regulates the display of price reductions. Thus, any announcement of a price reduction must be accompanied by an indication of the lowest price charged by the professional during the 30 days preceding the promotion. This price constitutes the reference price from which the reduction must be calculated.

In addition, the DGCCRF showed no leniency regarding the “greenwashing” practices of ISEL, which was unable to document and justify the environmental claims posted on its website, in particular the message presenting it as ” a responsible company, which would limit its environmental impact by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 25%“.

An environmental claim, whether it concerns a company’s commitments or the impact of a product or service, must be reliable, clear, precise, justified and verifiable by scientific evidence. Failing this, these commercial arguments may be considered misleading for the consumer.

And breaches of environmental information regulations

Following on from its action against the misleading commercial practices of the Shein giant, the DGCCRF has also imposed an administrative fine of 1.098 million euros on ISEL for non-compliance with environmental information obligations applicable to marketers of waste-generating products such as clothing, linen and footwear.

Indeed, since January 1, 2023, textile products composed of more than 50% synthetic fibers must be accompanied by the statement “Rejects plastic microfibers into the environment during washing”. It was Law no. 2020-105 of February 10, 2020 on the fight against waste and the circular economy that strengthened the obligation to provide consumers with information on the environmental qualities and characteristics of waste-generating products, with a view to increasing transparency. The objective is clear: to enable consumers to make informed purchases, based on clear, understandable and sincere information.

However, by failing to share this information concerning plastic microfibers on 732 referenced products, Shein has failed in its obligation to comply with this environmental transparency requirement imposed by French regulations.

This unprecedented administrative sanction underlines the fact that environmental labelling obligations are no longer theoretical, and that online sales platforms, which are often massive importers, are fully within the scope of economic control. This sends a strong signal to the entire textile sector, which is responsible for almost 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The sanction imposed on Shein on July 3 is part of a broader legislative context of tougher action against ephemeral fashion and its environmental impact, a trend confirmed by the adoption on first reading in the Senate on June 10 of a bill aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the textile industry. This text, currently being examined by the National Assembly, aims to make textile industry players who practice “ultra express fashion” more responsible, in order to combat the extremely rapid renewal of collections with a high number of new references, or where the incentive to repair products is weak. As it stands, the text imposes new obligations in terms of environmental labelling and transparency, as well as consumer incentives in terms of reuse and recycling. It also provides for advertising restrictions and progressive financial penalties for the least virtuous companies, in line with the “polluter pays” principle within the framework of extended producer responsibility.

Added to this is the ban on destruction at European level, provided for in Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, known as “Ecodesign”, which will apply from July 19, 2026 to the main operators in the textile industry, before coming into force for medium-sized companies.

Ultimately, what we’re aiming for is a change of model: the emergence of a more sober, responsible, traceable fashion that is compatible with the objectives of the ecological transition.