France voted to ban fast fashion ads. Here's where it stands now.

If you were here last year, you might remember I posted about France passing a sweeping anti-fast fashion law. It ended up being one of the most shared things I've ever put up. A lot of you responded. So I went back to find out: what actually happened next? Did it work? And where does the rest of the world stand?

Here's the full update. There's genuinely good news. There's also some complicated reality that's worth understanding. And there are real things you can do right now, wherever you are.

Quick catch-up if you missed the original

France has moved further than almost any country in trying to curb fast fashion. The National Assembly passed an initial version of the bill in 2024. The Senate backed a revised version in June 2025 by 337 votes to one, including provisions that would prohibit advertising linked to ultra-express fashion, with an intended start date of 1 January 2026.

The bill was aimed squarely at brands like Shein and Temu, the ones that upload thousands of new styles every single day and price them so cheaply that buying and throwing away feels almost effortless. It introduced eco-modulation mechanisms to make ultra-fast fashion pay more while rewarding more durable, better-designed products. And it included that planned influencer advertising ban.

But the bill is still moving through the parliamentary and EU notification process, meaning parts of the plan have not rolled out as cleanly or as quickly as the vote suggested. The more honest update is this: France's attempt is changing the conversation and the machinery of regulation is moving, but the real test is implementation.

What happened after France led the way

The ripple effect was real and it moved fast.

In September 2025, the European Parliament gave final green light to new EU measures that require textile producer responsibility schemes across all member states. Producers will have to fund the collection, sorting and recycling of waste textiles, and member states are explicitly instructed to address fast and ultra-fast fashion when determining producer fees. Countries will then transpose the rules into national law, with schemes to be in place within 30 months of the directive entering into force, pushing implementation into the 2027 to 2028 window.

Eight EU countries, including Italy, Spain, and Belgium, have jointly called for even stronger action against fast fashion platforms. Italy is now drafting its own version of France's law. The country with arguably the world's most famous fashion industry is saying enough.

In the US, California passed the Responsible Textile Recovery Act. New York and Washington state both have fast fashion bills in progress. For the first time, there's real political momentum building.

Australia launched Seamless, a voluntary clothing stewardship scheme. Six major brands and retailers signed on early. But Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has been clear: if the industry doesn't show serious progress, mandatory levies are coming. And given that Australians are the highest per-capita consumers of textiles in the world, buying an average of 56 items of clothing per person every year, the stakes are real.

The UK is watching but hasn't acted yet. Which means public pressure there matters more than anywhere right now.

The complicated bit: how change actually works

Here's something worth understanding about how the EU functions, because it explains why France's timeline got messier than the vote suggested.

When an individual country passes legislation that could affect the wider European market, they're required to notify the European Commission so it can check the new law doesn't conflict with shared rules. The Commission came back with questions about how "ultra-fast fashion" is defined precisely enough to be legally enforceable, whether the advertising ban goes further than shared EU digital rules currently allow countries to go unilaterally, and whether the penalty structures are proportionate under EU legal standards.

The numbers that put all of this in context

In case you need a reminder of why this matters:

• Fashion and textiles are responsible for a significant share of global emissions, with widely cited estimates ranging from a few per cent up to around 10%, and the industry is often said to consume more energy than aviation and shipping combined
• We're buying around 60% more clothes than we were 15 years ago and wearing each item significantly less
• 92 million tonnes of textile waste is produced every year globally
• Washing synthetic clothes releases microfibres into waterways in quantities equivalent to billions of plastic bottles annually

And closer to home:

What you can actually do, beyond buying secondhand

Buying less and shopping secondhand genuinely matters. But the scale of this problem needs something bigger than individual choices. It needs laws. And laws need public pressure to happen. Here's what that looks like right now.

• Write to your representative It sounds old-fashioned but politicians track constituent correspondence closely, more than most people realise. You don't need to write an essay. A few sentences saying you care about fast fashion regulation and want to know where they stand is enough. USA: senate.gov or house.gov. Australia: aph.gov.au. UK: parliament.uk.
• Download Good On You Free app, Australian-founded, used worldwide. It rates every fashion brand on environment, labour, and animal welfare. Thirty seconds to check before you buy. goodonyou.eco
• Stop amplifying fast fashion France moved to make it illegal for influencers to advertise Shein. You don't have to wait for a law. Haul videos, affiliate codes, discount links -- that's advertising. We can simply choose not to.
• Spend your money on brands trying to make change When you do buy something new, choose brands that are genuinely trying. B Corp certified, locally made, Good On You rated. Spending money is a vote. Make it count.

The bottom line

France showed it's possible. One country, one near-unanimous vote, the most ambitious fast fashion legislation the world has seen. The EU followed. Italy is writing its own version. The US is moving. Australia is on notice.

This isn't a fringe issue anymore. It's entering mainstream politics, which means the window for public pressure to shape what actually gets passed is right now, not in five years when the policies are already written.

The fashion industry spent years convincing us this was a personal problem. Buy better, choose wisely, be a more conscious consumer. But no individual shopping decision is going to offset an industry producing 92 million tonnes of waste a year. That takes regulation. And regulation takes people asking for it.

You don't have to be an activist. You just have to make some noise. That's what they're scared of.