The French government enacted an accelerated judicial procedure after discovering that Shein was selling illegal products — including childlike sex dolls, weapons and prescription medication — on its website in November.
PARIS (CN) — Shein, the online retail giant, will not have to suspend its website for three months in France following a Paris judicial court ruling on Friday.
In October, Shein came under nationwide fire after childlike sex dolls were found for sale on its website. The national consumer watchdog, known as the DGCCRF, said it was “difficult to doubt the child pornography nature of the content.” It added that the dissemination of child pornography is punishable by up to seven years behind bars and a fine of up to roughly $116,000. Since then, 20 men have been arrested across the country for purchasing the dolls.
Authorities also found “Category A” weapons on the website, which were marketed in a way to camouflage what they were; a machete was sold as a “camping axe” and brass knuckles as “decorative rings.” This is punishable by five years of prison and a fine of roughly $87,000.
In the immediate aftermath of the findings, Shein said it had taken down all of the illegal listings from its website. But on Nov. 1, the DGCCRF filed a complaint against the retailer that largely hinged on Article 6.3 of the Digital Economy Law, which allows judges to swiftly take action to prevent harm caused by online content.
“From a public policy perspective, the French initiative is significant because it acknowledges that sustainability in fashion cannot be left solely to individual consumer responsibility or corporate self-regulation,” Geraldina Roberti, an associate professor of sociology of consumption at the Sapienza University of Rome, said.
On Nov. 6, the French government seized 200,000 packages from the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris as part of its investigation into Shein. It found that eight out of 10 items were not compliant with French law — these included items like faulty appliances, illegal cosmetics and dangerous toys for children.
On Dec. 5, the first day of the hearings, Julia Bombardier — one of Shein’s lawyers — fiercely disputed the findings and argued that the retailer had been a victim of a media takedown.
“After controlling 200,000 packages, they said eight to 10 were nonconformant,” she told the courtroom in a raised voice. “Not only did they [not provide proof], but these do not conform to the numbers that customs agents found.”
One of Shein’s representatives was sitting in the audience with his lawyer. “Not bad,” he mouthed silently, nodding in approval.
Shein is, generally, a controversial platform. It epitomizes the growing fast-fashion industry, in which consumers are encouraged to buy trendy clothing that is cheap enough to often be tossed when the next trend rolls around — a cycle that has a negative impact on the environment. Its production centers are riddled with reports of labor violations. Its corporate structure is murky, which allows the platform to skirt responsibility on multiple fronts.
Flavie Vonderscher is the head of advocacy at the French HOP — Stop Planned Obsolescence nonprofit organization. In one report, HOP proposed that marketing polluting products should be banned, and surveys showed that the majority of French people supported this idea. In her view, the Shein case provided an opportunity to send a powerful political signal.
“We see that there’s an expectation from civil society to take action, to have political support on these issues to reduce the environmental impact of consumption,” she explained. “The consumer cannot do it alone, so decisions must come from above. … This shows political support and the desire to regulate these practices, and also that today, we’re not in the wild west and not everyone can do as they please.”
Roberti also believes the case could prompt several regulatory impacts and inspire other European countries to take a stronger stance against ultra-fast-fashion platforms, “potentially leading to a continental standard requiring supply-chain transparency” and “minimum sustainability standards.”
In the short term, a suspension could prompt Shein to rapidly change its marketing model, according to John Deighton, a marketing professor at Harvard Business School.
“Shein is a very good direct marketer,” he explained. “Data, in some cases, might have a lifespan of weeks — so interrupting the updating of that data seems to be quite an interesting punishment.”
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