Italian DPA fines SHEIN for €1M for misleading customers with false environmental claims

The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), the Italian data protection authority (DPA), has fined SHEIN €1 million for misleading customers about its products' environmental impacts.

In September 2024, the Italian privacy regulator launched an investigation into the Chinese fashion retailer's questionable business practices.

The AGCM concluded that SHEIN used misleading and deceptive environmental claims on branded clothing products.

“Through its website and other promotional and/or informational online pages, the company disseminated environmental claims within the sections #SHEINTHEKNOW, evoluSHEIN, and Social Responsibility that were, in some instances, vague, generic, and/or overly emphatic, and in others, misleading or omissive,” the DPA stated in a press release on Monday.

The environmental assertions were either false or at least confusing, as SHEIN didn’t provide any information about the benefits of these products throughout their lifecycle.

“Moreover, these claims may lead consumers to believe not only that the evoluSHEIN by Design collection is made solely from ‘sustainable’ materials, but also that its products are fully recyclable, a statement which, given the fibres used and current recycling systems, does not reflect reality,” the regulator adds.

Furthermore, statements by SHEIN about its intention to reduce gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030 and to reach zero emissions by 2050 were vague, generic, and even contradicted by an actual increase in SHEIN’s emissions in 2023 and 2024.

The Italian regulator concludes by saying that its overall assessment was influenced by an “increased duty of care” falling on SHEIN because the retailer operates “in a highly polluting sector and with highly polluting methods.”

In a statement to press agency Reuters, SHEIN said it has cooperated fully with AGCM and has taken immediate action to address the concerns raised.

This is the second time a European regulator has imposed a fine on SHEIN. Last month, France’s antitrust agency issued a €40 million fine to the Chinese fashion retailer for deceptive business practices, including misleading discounts.