Italy fines fast-fashion giant Shein for 'green' claims / Photo: ARNAUD FINISTRE - AFP/File
-
Iran has 'will' to end war, but seeks guarantees, president says
-
Debutant Connolly guides Punjab to narrow IPL win over Gujarat
-
Dizzying month on markets with Middle East war
-
Woods says was looking at phone before crash: accident report
-
Young antelope shot dead at Vienna zoo
-
France eyes ban on social media for under-15s
-
Syrian president meets King Charles, Starmer on London visit
-
EU says 'necessary' to reduce fuel demand to cope with energy crisis
-
Iran players in Turkey pose with photos of young war victims
-
Prince Harry lawyers call for 'substantial damages' from UK tabloids
-
Tottenham appoint De Zerbi in battle for Premier League survival
-
US Supreme Court rules against ban on 'conversion therapy' for LGBTQ minors
-
Empty streets, markets in central Nigeria's Jos after major shooting
-
Italy delays coal phase-out by over a decade
-
Stocks rise on peace hopes, oil mixed
-
Israel weathers energy shock from Iran war even as world battles crisis
-
US consumers' inflation expectations surge on Mideast war
-
Napoli threaten absent Lukaku with disciplinary action
-
German whale saga continues as struggling animal beached again
-
Chelsea's Cucurella laments 'instability' caused by Maresca exit
-
'Iran will be at World Cup' and play in US, FIFA's Infantino tells AFP
-
Stocks rise on peace hopes, oil flat
-
Senegal enacts law doubling penalty for same-sex relations
-
De Zerbi 'agrees in principle' to become new Tottenham boss - reports
-
Trump says other countries should 'just take' the Strait of Hormuz
-
Russian oil tanker docks in Cuba after US blockade relief
-
Next days in Iran war will be 'decisive': Pentagon chief
-
Indonesia rations fuel as prices soar over Mideast war
-
How Middle East war is driving up shipping costs
-
Russian tanker brings oil to Cuba as US eases blockade
-
Asia to be hit hardest by Iran war energy crisis: Kpler to AFP
-
Huawei reports slowing revenue growth in 2025
-
Sexualised deepfakes targeting actress spur German '#MeToo' moment
-
Australia head to World Cup on a high after crushing Curacao 5-1
-
Italy fertility rate fell to new low of 1.14 in 2025
-
Pakistan cricketer Zaman gets two-match PSL ban for ball tampering
-
Oil prices rise, stocks mixed on Iran war uncertainty
-
In Beirut's largest stadium, displaced people with disabilities face 'ordeal'
-
Deposed and detained: Niger president's fate unclear nearly three years on
-
Newcastle say no manager change 'at the moment'
-
Newly-hatched rare Indian bustard chick gets 50-strong guard
-
Stranded whale frees itself again off German coast
-
Archaeologists forced by Mideast war to cut short Iraq digs
-
Stranded whale frees itself again off German coast and disappears
-
Thailand's king endorses new cabinet
-
China bans entombing cremated remains in empty flats
-
Calls grow for 15-year-old Suryavanshi to make India bow
-
Stocks slip, oil swings after report says Trump willing to end war
-
Pakistan cricketer Naseem fined record $71,500 for minister criticism
-
China teen diving prodigy nearly retired after 'reaching mental limit'
Italy fines fast-fashion giant Shein for 'green' claims
Italy's competition watchdog said Monday it has fined the company responsible for Shein's websites in Europe one million euros ($1.15 million) for false and confusing claims about the e-commerce giant's efforts to be environmentally "green".
The AGCM watchdog accuses the China-founded fast-fashion colossal of having "adopted a misleading communication strategy regarding the characteristics and environmental impact of its clothing products".
The fine was imposed on Infinite Styles Services Co. Ltd, the company responsible for managing Shein's product trading websites in Europe, the authority said in a statement.
The AGCM accused it of "misleading and/or deceptive environmental messages and claims... in the promotion and sale of Shein-branded clothing products".
These were "in some instances, vague, generic, and/or overly emphatic, and in others, misleading or omissive".
In particular, claims about the recyclability of products "were found to be either false or at least confusing", it said.
Consumers could easily be led to believe Shein products were made exclusively from sustainable materials and fully recyclable, "a statement which, given the fibres used and current recycling systems, does not reflect reality".
The AGCM also took issue with the retailer's claims it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030 and reach zero emissions by 2050.
These "vague" pledges by a company which has seen phenomenal growth in recent years were "contradicted by an actual increase in Shein's greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 and 2024", it said.
In a statement to AFP, Shein said it had "cooperated fully" with the watchdog's investigation and "took immediate action" to address the concerns, saying all environmental claims on the website were now "clear, specific and compliant with regulations".
Environmentalists have long warned of the damage wreaked by the fast-fashion sector's wasteful trend of mass producing low-cost clothes that are quickly thrown away.
Fast fashion uses up massive amounts of water, produces hazardous chemicals and clogs up landfills in poor countries with textile waste, while also generating greenhouse gases in production, transport and disposal.
F.Carias--PC