Former French minister appointed to advise Shein committee

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Christophe Castaner in Paris, June 11, 2024. Credits: MAGALI COHEN / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP

Former French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has joined a panel advising fast-fashion giant Shein, according to a report by news outlet La Lettre. The appointment of the politician, who served as interior minister from October 2018 to July 2020, has sparked heated debate amid ongoing opposition to the company.

"Who is actually representing France's interests here?" asks Julia Faure, co-founder of the fashion brand Loom, in a LinkedIn post. She is referring to the collaboration between the former interior minister and Shein. Faure points out that this news comes in a specific legal context: the so-called anti-fast fashion law. This law provides for a series of measures to curb the pollution caused by disposable fashion.

On March 14, 2024, the French National Assembly unanimously adopted a bill to this effect at first reading, with amendments. The text is currently being examined in the Senate. The law fits into a series of measures drawn up in recent years, including the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Act (AGEC) of 2020, the Climate Action and Resilience Act of 2021, and the Act to Strengthen Environmental Regulation in the Digital Sector of the same year.

As La Lettre reports, Christophe Castaner has been appointed to a panel that advises Shein on social and environmental impact issues, particularly in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR). According to the report, the former minister specialises in lobbying and operates through his company Villanelle Conseil, which describes itself on LinkedIn as a "public affairs, government relations and institutional communication consultancy". Villanelle Conseil claims to support "various organisations in the development of strategies in the areas of public affairs, institutional relations, crisis management and corporate communication".

However, Castaner is not the first politician to work for Shein. In the summer of this year, the company hired the former EU Commissioner for Energy, Günther Oettinger, as an advisor. Oettinger is to help Shein intensify its lobbying work and find its way in the complex environment of European regulations.

The accusations against the cheap fashion brand are varied: from massive overproduction of clothing and precarious working conditions to unfair competition against French brands and misleading promotions. In addition to the significant ecological impact of this fashion giant, the industry is particularly concerned about Shein's enormous market dominance in France. According to the "Stop Shein" petition page, which was launched in June 2023, the company offers up to 8,000 new items every day. To date, 57,938 people have signed the petition.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.FR. It was translated to English using an AI tool called Genesis and edited by Rachel Douglass..

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