Speed up! The European textile industry is sounding the alarm. In a joint statement set to be unveiled on Tuesday, September 16, in Paris at the Première Vision trade show (bringing together the entire sector for three days), the leading employer federations of the European textile industry are calling on Brussels to act swiftly in implementing decisions to slow the expansion of fast fashion in the European Union. "The future of a sector employing 1.3 million people and representing 200,000 companies with a turnover of €170 billion is at stake," said Mario Jorge Machado, the president of the European Apparel and Textile Confederation (Eurotex) who also represents the Portuguese industry.

In 2024, every day, 12 million small parcels entered the EU – twice as many as in 2023 and three times as many as in 2022. And, according to European commissioner for trade Maros Sefcovic, 96% of these packages came from China, thanks to sales from Shein, Alibaba or Temu. This influx has shown no sign of slowing down.

"Since the beginning of 2025, the number of small parcels imported into Europe has increased by 20%," said Pierre-François Le Louët, co-president of the French Union of Fashion and Apparel Manufacturers (UFIMH). He estimated that online sales platforms have increased their activity in Europe following measures taken by Washington against them by "sending to Europe what they previously shipped to the United States." By decree, the US administration decided, effective August 29, to end the exemption from customs duties that previously applied to small postal parcels (shipments of goods valued at $800 or less, or €686).

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