What happens when Chinese ultra-fast fashion giants flood Europe with very cheap, low-quality clothing? At first glance, the offer looks irresistible: endless choices, rock-bottom prices, and almost rapid delivery at the tap of a screen. But behind the glossy apps and social media ads lies a growing threat – one that’s quietly unravelling Europe’s circular economy, textile reuse and recycling industry.
When ultra-fast fashion breaks the rules
These platforms, like SHEIN and Temu, are radically changing consumer habits and the European market as we know them. They are overwhelming the very systems designed to protect consumers, ensure fair competition, and keep waste in check. Every day they push out between 2,000 and 10,000 new items online. They operate at fast speed, with some designs going from concept to consumer in under 10 days. These ultra-fast fashion companies claim to use an “on-demand” model (that limits waste), but the reality is quite the opposite. What they’re really leading to is extreme overconsumption, waste generation and overwhelming Europe’s ability to reuse or recycle those garments.
The numbers speak volumes. In 2023, SHEIN’s own data revealed a 45% spike in its greenhouse gas emissions. Together, SHEIN and Temu ship the equivalent of 88 Boeing 777 cargo freighters globally every single day, fuelling aviation emissions while bypassing the logistics infrastructure European businesses must comply with. These parcels often enter the EU under the €150 duty exemption, raising concerns about meaningful customs checks and tax avoidance, and therefore, possibly slipping past product safety oversight.
Customs authorities are overwhelmed. The sheer volume of small parcels makes proper inspection nearly impossible. As a result, market surveillance is no longer functioning, and many products that violate EU rules reach consumers unchecked. In 2022, Greenpeace flagged SHEIN items exceeding chemical safety limits. A year later, South Korea discovered toxic substances 622 times the legal limit in children’s clothing sold by Temu. Just this February, Irish regulators found dangerous levels of lead and banned phthalates in children’s sandals from SHEIN.
Europe’s circular economy can’t compete
Meanwhile, EU-based textile producers, retailers, and recyclers must play by the rules. They are bound by strict environmental, labour, and safety standards, and face rising costs and regulatory pressure to boost circularity. Yet they are being undercut by platforms that may leverage regulatory loopholes. The damage is already visible: entry-level and mid-range fashion brands across Europe are collapsing under pressure. France’s Camaïeu, Pimkie, Naf Naf, and Jennyfer have either restructured or shut down. Even global players like H&M are feeling the strain, resorting to legal action against SHEIN for copyright infringement in 2023.
We are witnessing a sector vital to Europe’s green transition buckle under the weight of low-value imports that were never designed to be reused, resold, or recycled. Textile sorters are left to deal with an avalanche of clothing with no second-hand value and with low recyclability – while fibre-to-fibre recycling still accounts for less than 1% of collected materials.
On top of flooding the market with toxic chemicals and threatening human health, ultra-fast fashion also delivers a devastating environmental blow. These garments are built on low-quality synthetic fibres like polyester. They release microplastics with every wash and are often impossible to be reused or difficult to recycle. European textile sorters are sounding the alarm: collection bins are increasingly filled with unworn SHEIN items, tags still attached. These clothes are landfill-bound from the moment they’re made.
Textile sorters across Europe open sacks of collected clothing every day and regularly find items that still bear tags from brands like SHEIN. Is this what circularity looks like? Mass overconsumption, clothing too poor in quality to even resell, let alone recycle?
Time to close loopholes and enforce the rules
To counter this, EuRIC Textiles is calling for urgent policy action – as painted in EuRIC’s manifesto “Increasing Textiles Circularity by 2030.”: extending product lifecycles, scaling up textile recycling, and increasing the use of recycled fibres in new products. The manifesto outlines essential measures, including robust Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, binding ecodesign requirements to make clothing circular by design, and educational tools like the Digital Product Passport (DPP) to inform and empower consumers. It also calls for stronger enforcement to prevent greenwashing and ensure a level playing field with third countries.
That’s why EuRIC strongly supports the swift removal of the €150 duty exemption, as proposed in the EU Customs Reform of May 2023 and reiterated in the Commission’s “e-commerce toolbox” of February 2025. Scrapping this outdated rule is a crucial first step toward restoring fairness, strengthening market surveillance, and stemming the tide of disposable fashion that threatens both our environment and circular economy goals. However, this is definitely not a silver bullet, and Brussels must think of a broader package to limit the imports of Chinese ultra-fast fashion, including a handling fee on e-commerce items or a waste management fee on all products sold via third countries online marketplaces, and ambitious consumer awareness campaigns.
Europe has tools on the table – from the DSA and Ecodesign rules to customs reform and the Waste Framework Directive. But these tools are only as strong as the political will behind them. Enforcement must be stepped up, loopholes closed, and standards made non-negotiable.
The question is: how much more damage must be done before we act?
Julia Ettinger is the Secretary General at EuRIC
