The Italian authorities have fined Shein €1m (£870,000) for making “misleading or omissive” environmental claims about its products, the second time in as many months the Chinese fashion retailer has been targeted by European regulators.
Environmental sustainability and social responsibility messages on Shein’s website were in some cases “vague, generic, and/or overly emphatic” and in others were “misleading or omissive”, said Italy’s competition authority, AGCM.
It is the latest criticism to hit the fast fashion behemoth, where shoppers can pick up polyester party dresses for as little as £1.60, leading to claims it is helping to cause a plastic pollution crisis through the oversupply of cheap synthetic clothes.
Shein details its “evoluSHEIN” roadmap on its website as including three strategic pillars: “Equitable Empowerment (People), Collective Resilience (Planet) and Waste-Less Innovation (Process).”
But AGCM was critical of its approach. “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.”
“Through its website … and other promotional and/or informational online pages, the company disseminated environmental claims within the sections #SHEINTHEKNOW, evoluSHEIN, and Social Responsibility that were, in some instances, vague, generic, and/or overly emphatic, and in others, misleading or omissive.”
Shein’s claims about product circularity and recycling “were found to be either false or at least confusing”, AGCM said, while its claims that products from its “evoluSHEIN by Design” collection were more sustainable were “overstated”.
“Moreover, these claims may lead consumers to believe not only that the evoluSHEIN by Design collection is made solely from ‘sustainable’ materials, but also that its products are fully recyclable – a statement which, given the fibres used and current recycling systems, does not reflect reality,” the regulator added.
The fine was imposed on Infinite Styles Services Co Ltd, a Dublin-based company that operates Shein’s website in Europe. In a statement responding to the ruling, Shein said: “We have cooperated fully with the AGCM throughout this process, and took immediate action to address the concerns raised as soon as we became aware of them.
“We have strengthened our internal review processes and improved our website to ensure that all environmental claims are clear, specific, and compliant with regulation.”
The Italian fine was announced just over a month after France’s directorate for competition, consumer affairs and fraud prevention handed Shein a €40m penalty for “deceptive commercial practices”.
The French regulator found that Shein had misled consumers about discounts offered to them and was unable to substantiate environmental claims made on its website.
Last month the EU justice commissioner, Michael McGrath, expressed shock at the toxicity and dangers of some goods being sold by Shein and its competitor Temu.
Reuters contributed to this report
