The Dutch clothing industry association, Modint, has joined major European textile federations in an urgent call on the EU to take action against ultra-fast fashion.

Modint chairwoman Sylvia Roelofs signed a declaration with other business groups on Tuesday, asking the EU to “restore fair competition, and protect people and the planet”, putting pressure on Brussels to rein in online retailers such as Shein and Temu.

Ultra-fast fashion means the rapid design, production and delivery cycle of cheap clothes, typically from outside the EU. This form of business accounted for 4.5 billion imported parcels in the European Union in 2024, 5% of total clothing sales and 20% of the online textile market.

The signatories warn of the severe consequences of this practice, which floods the market with low-quality products, including the “explosion of textile waste,” the “unbearable pressure” on small European companies, and the “direct threat to local retailers” which accelerates “the decline of city centres.”

Last year it emerged that the price of second-hand clothing from the Netherlands dropped by more than 30%, partly due to the rise of ultra-fast fashion. A billion items of clothing are sold in the country each year, with 55% ending up in incinerators once discarded.

The groups also warned about breaches of European social and environmental standards, as well as VAT fraud and counterfeiting.

The federations called on the EU and its member states to immediately bring in new rules that abolish the exemption from duties on imported goods below the value of €150. They also said custom controls should be strengthened and VAT collected on such “massive flows”.

They also want non-EU online retailers to appoint legal representatives in the EU, who can be held accountable for breaches of the law.

This request was supported on Wednesday by a letter sent by 64 environmental, consumer and manufacturing organisations which asked the European Commission to close a legal loophole through which online marketplaces are currently not recognised as economic operators under EU law.

The EU should apply the “heaviest sanctions” to those who do not comply with EU rules and start “dialogue with the Chinese authorities to regulate the practices of their platforms,” the textile industry associations said.

Investigation

The commission announced an investigation into Shein’s compliance with EU consumer law in February and in May urged the Chinese online giant to comply with EU legislation.

In June, European consumers groups, including the Dutch Consumentenbond,  filed a complaint with the commission and European consumer protection authorities against Shein for the use of deceptive marketing techniques that encourage over-consumption.

In September, the European Parliament passed new rules requiring EU countries to set up schemes to make producers of textile products cover the costs of collecting, sorting and recycling them.