France has started imposing penalties on fast ‌fashion retailers to try to curb a surge in sales of cheap clothing sold by online sites ‌such as Shein and Temu.

The so-called “Temu tax” comes as Australia remains one of the world’s largest consumers of fast fashion per capita.

The fast-fashion phenomenon involves the manufacture and sale of cheaply-made clothing mirroring more expensive brands and styles, which are usually thrown away after a short period of time.

The new French penalties – part of a fast-fashion law passed in June that aims to address environmental concerns from overproduction – range from €0.25 (42 cents) for a pair of boxer shorts or socks to €12 ($20) for a coat, with the amount capped at 50 per cent of the product’s pre-tax sales price.

They add to ‌Shein’s difficulties ‌as the end ⁠of duty-free access for cheap e-commerce parcels in the European Union ​and the US caused its valuation to plunge ahead of its stock market debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Neither Shein nor Temu responded to a request for comment on the fees.

Shein’s spokesperson in France, Quentin Ruffat, has previously said the fast-fashion penalties would hurt customers by pushing up prices.

China’s commerce ministry has described ⁠the French law as discriminatory and a trade barrier, saying ‌it ​could violate World Trade Organisation principles.

The French penalties, which will ​increase from ‌2030, are calculated using a formula that takes into account the number of products sold, their prices ​and their repairability.

Shein’s product selection included more than two million items as of March 31, with 4700 new apparel styles each day, according to its prospectus.

Under European Union regulations on textile waste, member states must have an Extended Producer Responsibility body that collects fees from textile producers to fund the collection, sorting, and recycling of discarded clothes.

Estimated 200,000 tonnes of clothing end up in Australian landfill each tear. Photo: Getty

The organisation set up to ​fund the collection and reuse of textiles in France will collect the penalties from the importer ​or manufacturer of fast ⁠fashion that is liable for a penalty.

Australia is a major consumer of fast fashion, with a 2024 Australia Institute report estimating the average local consumer buys 56 new items of clothing per year.

The report said more than 1.4 billion units of new clothing entered the Australian market each year, and over 200,000 tonnes of clothing end up in landfills around Australia every year.

“A further 105,000 tonnes of used textiles are exported from Australia every year, most of which ends up as waste in developing nations in a practice that has been dubbed ‘waste colonisation’,” it said.

Those figures could be much bigger in 2026 as both Temu and Shein report major annual sales growth in Australia.