Beyond the Trend Cycle: How Global Players Are Combating the Harms of Fast Fashion

The success of fast fashion is built on rapid inventory turnover, low prices, and massive sales volumes. However, behind this "cheap and fast" model lie issues of overproduction, low wages for workers, and difficult-to-process textile waste. In recent years, the world has moved beyond relying solely on consumer ethics, expanding solutions to include the restructuring of systems, regulations, and business models. Below, we connect 12 implementable and replicable strategies across four dimensions, complete with real-world examples.

I. Upstream Design and Supply Chain Governance: Stopping Problems Before They Hit the Shelf

1. Banning the Destruction of Unsold and Returned Textiles: The EU’s ESPR Hard Regulation

The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which entered into force in 2024, is the first to introduce a ban on destroying unsold and returned textiles and footwear. It includes a phased timeline, starting with large enterprises and followed by medium-sized ones. This is not merely moral persuasion; it requires companies to establish procedures to prevent destruction and ensure transparent disclosure. Delegated acts will further specify exceptions and implementation details in the future.

2. Supply Chain Due Diligence Becomes a Legal Obligation: The German Example

The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), implemented since 2023, requires eligible companies to establish risk management systems, appoint Human Rights Officers, and face high fines for violations, potentially leading to exclusion from public procurement. For fashion brands long reliant on cross-border contract manufacturing, this legal measure effectively requires them to internalize the costs of "sweatshop conditions and pollution."

3. Implementing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): France's 2007 Start and the Netherlands' 2023 Expansion

Since 2007, France has established an EPR scheme for apparel, household textiles, and footwear, requiring brands to finance the collection and reuse of their products. The Netherlands launched its Textile EPR decree in 2023, setting explicit reuse/recycling targets and fiber-to-fiber ratios starting in 2025. These quantified targets ensure that "circular fashion" is no longer just rhetoric.

II. Changing Consumption Through Market Mechanisms: Making Garment Longevity Financially Rewarding

1. Subsidizing Repairs: France’s "Repair Bonus" for Clothing and Footwear

France established the clothing and footwear repair subsidy under the Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy Law (AGEC). Consumers receive a direct discount of €6–€25 at certified repair shops for fixing clothes, replacing zippers, or mending shoes, thereby boosting the local repair industry and extending product lifespan.

2. Tax Breaks for Repairs: Sweden Makes Mending More Affordable

Since 2017, Sweden has lowered the VAT rate on repair services for items including clothing, footwear, bicycles, and household textiles. The rate was further reduced to 6% between 2022 and 2023 (later adjusted back to 12%), while labor costs for repairing certain large appliances are tax-deductible. This constitutes a policy mechanism that directly alters price signals.

3. Brand-Led "Garment Renewal" to Reduce Replacement Frequency

Patagonia's Worn Wear program has long offered repair, resale, and guided recycling for unwearable items. Eileen Fisher's Renew program has collected over two million garments since 2009 and continues to grow, creating a significant secondhand and remanufacturing market. These examples prove that business models centered on repair, recycling, and resale are viable for long-term operation.

III. Regulatory Targeting of "Ultra-Fast Fashion": Curbing Excessive Novelty and Misleading Claims

1. "Ultra-Fast Fashion" Specific Legislation: A New Bill Advancing Through the French Parliament

Between 2024 and 2025, France advanced a bill targeting ultra-fast fashion platforms like Shein and Temu. Key measures include introducing an eco-score, advertising restrictions, and a progressively increasing environmental penalty tax (capped at €10 per item or 50% of the sale price). The Senate passed an amended version in June 2025, moving it into the conciliation process. The legislation’s core focus is on internalizing the external costs generated by rapid inventory novelty.

2. Anti-Greenwashing Enforcement: The UK’s CMA Cracks Down on the Fashion Industry

In addition to issuing the Green Claims Code guidance for the fashion sector, the UK regulator CMA secured commitments from major retailers in 2024. These commitments require the replacement of vague terms like "eco-friendly" and "sustainable" with specific, verifiable claims such as "organic" or "recycled." Furthermore, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (DMCC 2024) will reinforce its direct enforcement and fining powers between 2024 and 2025. This discourages brands from using vague green marketing to mask the harms of fast fashion.

3. Wage Correction: California’s Garment Worker Protection Act

California's SB62, effective since 2022, prohibits piece-rate pay that undercuts wages, mandating instead that pay must meet or exceed the hourly minimum wage. It also strengthens brands’ joint liability for unpaid wages. For a fashion industry where outsourcing is common, this law closes the loophole that allows for "reverse price suppression," forcing brands to face up to reasonable costs.

IV. Technology and Business Model Innovation: Shifting from "Selling More" to "Using Longer"

1. Data Standardization and the "Digital Product Passport"

The ESPR simultaneously promotes the Digital Product Passport (DPP), which standardizes the recording of a textile product’s fiber content, chemical substances, repair guidance, and recyclability. This will facilitate rapid sorting for secondhand platforms and recyclers, lowering the friction costs of circularity.

2. In-Store Live Recycling: H&M’s "Looop" Demonstration

H&M installed the Looop in-store recycling machine in Stockholm, which cleans, shreds, spins, and reweaves old garments into new ones without using water or chemicals. While it still requires a small amount of virgin material for reinforcement and is difficult to scale up, it serves as a tangible and participatory demonstration of circular fashion education and technology.

3. From "Selling Products" to "Selling Services"

More and more outdoor and functional brands are turning repair, refurbishment, warranty extension, and trade-in programs into standard services (e.g., Patagonia, Arc’teryx, Osprey). This approach replaces a portion of new product sales with service revenue and creates a complementary relationship with the secondhand and rental markets.

V. Conclusion: When "Cheap" Comes at an Expensive Price, We Must Put the Costs Back in the Right Place

The "harms of fast fashion" are no longer an abstract concept but are being systematically addressed through legislation, tax policy, repair and recycling subsidies, and brand-level circular mechanisms. The EU is rewriting product rules with the destruction ban and DPP; France and the Netherlands are turning textile EPR from a vision into an obligation; the UK is tightening the boundary of claims with anti-greenwashing laws; and California is closing the loophole for sweatshop wages. On the market side, extending garment life is starting to become "financially advantageous." The common thread among these policies and cases is the internalization of external costs, making the cycle of "buying a lot, wearing little, and disposing quickly" unattractive. The next step is to turn these practices into cross-border, collaborative standards, allowing genuine "circular fashion models" to be rapidly scaled.

For Brands: Three Immediate Actions—Disclose supply chain lists and wage policies; Establish verifiable KPIs for recycled material content; Institute repair/take-back services and disclose results annually.

For Policymakers: Implement textile EPR; Offer subsidies or tax reductions for repairs; Adopt EU/UK-style regulations for banning destruction and anti-greenwashing enforcement.

For Consumers: Adopt the "30 Wears Rule" and the "24-Hour Rule." The 30 Wears Rule means asking yourself if you will wear an item at least 30 times before purchasing it. The 24-Hour Rule means waiting at least 24 hours before deciding to buy a coveted item. Prioritize repairing before buying, secondhand shopping, and rentals. Demand clear labeling and reject vague green claims during purchase.

References:
1. European Commission – Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (including bans on destruction of textiles and Digital Product Passports).
2. Crowell & Moring – ESPR enters into force in 2024: Corporate obligations regarding the ban on destruction of unsold consumer products.
3. Carbonfact – ESPR destruction ban timeline and inventory of textile policies.
4. EEB (European Environmental Bureau) – Circular textile policy review (including exemptions under ESPR Article 25).
5. German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) – Analysis and enforcement penalties.
6. French Textile EPR (Refashion) – Official information and history.
7. Netherlands Textile EPR – Official business portal and foundation guidelines (including 2025/2030 targets).
8. French "Repair Bonus" for Clothing and Footwear – Supporting measures under the AGEC Law.
9. Sweden Repair Tax Reduction – Implementation since 2017 and adjustments in 2022–2023.
10. UK CMA "Green Claims Code" – Guidance for the fashion industry and corporate commitment cases.
11. UK DMCC Act 2024 – Legal interpretation of strengthened enforcement powers against greenwashing.
12. California "Garment Worker Protection Act" – Official information and FAQs.
13. Patagonia Worn Wear – Official website and repair pages.
14. Eileen Fisher Renew – Program results and 2023 impact report.
15. H&M "Looop" – Machine introduction and case studies.
16. Reuters / Marie Claire – Progress and key points of the French "Ultra-Fast Fashion" bill in Parliament (Ecological scoring, advertising bans, and differential taxes).