Italy’s antitrust agency has fined the Chinese online fast-fashion platform Shein €1 million for misleading green claims, it announced Monday.“The well-known brand, operating in the ‘fast’ and ‘superfast fashion’ sectors, adopted a misleading communication strategy regarding the characteristics and environmental impact of its clothing products,” wrote Italian competition authority AGCM in a press release.AGCM said that Infinite Styles Services Co. Ltd., a company that operates Shein’s website in Europe, has shared environmental claims that were “in some instances, vague, generic, and/or overly emphatic, and in others, misleading or omissive.”Shein promotes its “evoluSHEIN by design” collection and the use of “green fibers” as more sustainable.
However, the Italian authority notes that these statements may lead consumers to think that the collection is “fully recyclable,” which it considers to be untrue given fibers used and the recycling systems currently in place.“Statements by Shein about its intention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 and to reach zero emissions by 2050 are presented … in a vague and generic way — and were even contradicted by an actual increase in Shein’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 and 2024,” noted AGCM.Shein said in a statement to Reuters that it has “strengthened our internal review processes and improved our website to ensure that all environmental claims are clear, verifiable, and compliant with regulations.”
By the time of publishing, Shein had not responded to POLITICO request for comment.Italy is the second country in Europe to crack down on Shein after France fined the company €40 million for fake discounts and greenwashing in July.The European Commission in May targeted Shein for alleged violations of consumer protection law involving fake discounts and misleading sustainability claims. The EU has in recent months been taking a closer look at the millions of cheap parcels that enter the EU every day — the vast majority of which from Chinese traders like AliExpress, Temu and Shein. These companies have also been probed over the potential sale of illegal products under the Digital Services Act.
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