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In March 2024, France’s lower house of parliament unanimously voted in favour of a crackdown on ultra-fast fashion. 

The bill proposes a total ban on ultra-fast fashion advertisements and annually increasing fines of up to ten euros (~$16) per item of clothing for fast fashion businesses. It has yet to pass the Senate, but judging by the lower house response, this seems quite likely.

And now the talk of the town is whether Australia will follow suit. Sourcing expert Marie Kinsella - the CEO of International Expo Group and Australia’s Global Sourcing Expo (GSE) organiser - says this is highly likely.

“Now, more than ever, the sustainability of products is carrying significant weight in customer purchasing decisions,” Kinsella says.

“Concurrently, regulators are introducing comprehensive transparency and supply chain due diligence laws, resulting in a new era of corporate accountability that brands will need to adhere to.”

Kinsella then listed three key reasons.

First, a 2023 survey by Monash Business School’s Australian Consumer and Retail Studies (ACRS) found that more than half (52%) of the 1000 Australian shoppers surveyed are giving more thought to the social and environmental impact of their purchases before they buy, and are even willing to pay more for products that are ethically produced.

Second, just over five years ago, Australia’s Federal Government established the Modern Slavery Act 2018, forcing large businesses with annual consolidated revenue of at least $100 million to publicly share a modern slavery statement every year. These cover supply chain due diligence, with many statements also covering sustainability.

This paved the way for major fashion retailers in particular to document and publicly reveal their suppliers - a collar-tugging shift for an industry that once preferred to hold this information secret, especially from competitors.

In 2023, a review by the Attorney-General’s office made the recommendation to reduce the monetary requirement level to $50 million. 

The third and most crucial reason is the launch of Seamless, a national clothing product stewardship scheme announced last year in June, which is expected to kick off in June this year following a transition period. 

Six founding members - Big W, David Jones, Lorna Jane, Rip Curl, R.M. Williams and The Iconic - each committed $100,000 to the transition phase, alongside the NSW Environment Protection Authority which also contributed $100,000.

The scheme design is intended to charge signed-up businesses a 4 cent per garment levy, with funds going towards the implementation of circular solutions for Australia’s fashion industry.

The Australian Fashion Council (AFC) - which led the design of the scheme - noted that if 60 per cent of the market by volume sign up to the scheme, a funding pool of $36 million will be raised per year to transform the industry.

Since launching last June, Sussan Group and Cotton On Group have signed onto the scheme.

Of course, it should also be noted that the Australian Government provided funding for the scheme design, and it was formally announced by the Minister for Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek, who is on a mission to tackle waste and environmental harm across various industries, including fashion. The same woman who said this on the launch of Seamless no less than 10 months ago:

“We have a choice here,” Plibersek said. “This can be an industry-led approach. You collect the money, you decide how the money is best used, you invest in the research you need, you invest in the collection systems you need, you take charge… or I'll do it.

“I've been really clear that this is too big an environmental problem to turn our backs on. I want to see industry leadership. I don't want to be making these decisions for you. But if I don't see enough movement in a year, then I will regulate.”

Plibersek reiterated these same words in February this year.

This comes as discount-driven shoppers funnel their spending towards low-price fashion retailers like Shein and Temu, both of which are recording billion-dollar sales. Even local discount retailers are rising in revenue, with Kmart and Target under Kmart Group reporting a combined $10 billion in sales for FY23. 

According to Kinsella, the greatest harms posed by the rise of ultra-fast fashion include - but are not limited to - unsustainable production and supply chain processes, environmental pollution and worker exploitation.

All this comes as the AFC found last year that 200,000 tonnes of clothing go into Australian landfills each year, with Kinsella highlighting the rise of ultra-fast fashion businesses like Shein and Temu is a major contributor. 

“In response to these growing threats, the Global Sourcing Seminar program at the upcoming Global Sourcing Expo in Sydney has been carefully curated to include sessions that will highlight strategies for overcoming these challenges and help brands ensure that their sourcing practices are transparent and ethical.

“The good news is that there are local innovators looking to change the way Australians design, consume and recycle clothing – such as Seamless.”

While France is leading the way in cracking down on fast fashion businesses, it isn’t the only sustainable push globally. 

By 2030, all textile products for sale in the European Union will need to carry a Digital Product Passport (DPP), containing an unprecedented amount of environmental impact data. Crucially, the DPP is linked to France’s bill which would mandate that all fast fashion retailers include an item’s reuse, repair, recycling, and environmental impact near the product’s price tag – requiring complete supply chain traceability for all companies exporting to the EU.

Similar due diligence laws like our Modern Slavery Act are being tabled across the United States, too.

But in Australia, one thing is for sure: With less than two months to go until the bell rings on Plibersek’s one year ultimatum, fashion retailers are bracing for change.

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