Volkswacht Bodensee - France hits Shein with 22 mn euros in new fines over consumer violations

The new penalties bring the total fines imposed by France against the Asian fashion giant to more than 210 million euros.

They were levied by the government's consumer protection agency DGCCRF following an investigation targeting several e-commerce platforms, primarily based outside Europe, including Shein.

The first fine of 5.77 million euros targets Infinite Style Ecommerce Co Ltd (ISEL), which handles sales for Shein.

The DGCCRF accuses Shein of failing to comply with a 14-day period required for consumers to be able to reconsider certain purchases and return them free of charge.

The watchdog also accuses the company of omitting mandatory traceability information, such as the countries where its clothing is woven, dyed and manufactured, and of failing to disclose the presence of microplastics in its fabrics.

Microplastics, primarily found in polyester, are released into the water with every machine wash, posing a serious environmental threat.

In addition, the agency imposed a fine of 16.73 million euros on Shein's subsidiary ISSL (Infinite Styles Services Limited), accusing it of violations of consumer law.

Shein said it was contesting both penalties.

"We dispute these findings and consider the fines manifestly disproportionate," the Singapore-based company said in a statement.

"There has never been any doubt about the fairness of transactions on our platform, or the quality and safety of the products and services offered," it said, arguing that no instance of consumer harm had been established.

"We are not even aware of a single customer complaint relating to these issues," it said.

Shein has been under fire since it established operations in France.

It is criticised by campaign groups and politicians for allegedly generating environmental pollution, practising unfair competition, selling goods that fail to comply with basic regulations and imposing poor working conditions in its Chinese factories.

Last year, the discovery of childlike sex dolls on the Shein platform caused outrage in France and prompted greater scrutiny.

Following the uproar, Shein said it immediately removed the products from its marketplace -- the section of its website selling third-party products -- and banned sex dolls from its site globally.

P.Keller--VB