When Shein — the ultra-fast fashion titan from China — announced its first physical store in France, it felt like more than just a retail launch. It symbolised a clash of values: a brand known for overproduction, exploitation, and environmental damage entering one of the world’s fashion capitals, a city that prides itself on craftsmanship, heritage, and sustainability. And, somehow, it happened in the heart of Paris this month.
The iconic BHV
Facing l’Hôtel de Ville, the city’s administration, stands a historic mall, BHV Marais, founded in 1856. It’s a five-story department store offering everything from home-ware and hardware to fashion and beauty.
On November 5, 2025, this mall became home to an offline boutique of SHEIN, the Chinese fast-fashion giant. I went there last weekend to dive into this surreal experience. As a cherry on top, La bohème by Charles Aznavour was playing when I finally reached the sixth floor, where Christmas decorations and a food court currently share the space with Shein. The soundtrack couldn’t have been more ironic. Something that also left me ‘impressed’ was the fact that your bag gets checked both when you enter the 6th floor and when you leave it.
I used to occasionally visit the mall to sample new perfume releases, pick up a birthday gift for a friend, or ascend to the rooftop when I felt like it. BHV was never my favourite, but it always stood as a central, elegant department store in my mind — a place associated with upscale items and nice scents.
What’s Wrong?
Why is this such a scandal, then? Beyond the absurdity of having a fast-fashion e-commerce platform offline — and at a historic department store of all places?
Plenty of things are wrong with SHEIN. Let’s unpack them.
First of all, fast fashion is disastrous for the environment. According to ‘The Fast Fashion Paradox’, an HSBC Global Research report, the global apparel industry generates about 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually, and of that waste, estimates suggest that approximately 80% or more is sent to landfill or incinerated rather than recycled.
When incinerated, synthetic fibres (polyester, nylon) dominating in many fast-fashion items, take hundreds of years to degrade in landfill.
Besides that, fast-fashion contributes significantly to the heavy carbon footprint of the apparel sector because of: high material volumes (especially synthetics derived from fossil fuels), energy-intensive processes (dyeing, finishing), rapid turnover (leading to more production per unit of usage), and disposal / waste (which also has emissions). The ‘~10% of global emissions’ figure is frequently cited.
It applies to all fast-fashion brands: having an H&M or Zara at BHV would be just as questionable. A reserved spot at a department store legitimises a brand’s image, giving it an air of prestige. This move by a Parisian mall stands in ironic contrast to the city’s climate commitments — the Paris Agreement itself.
Unsurprisingly, environmental activists noticed. Many gathered in front of BHV on the day of Shein’s opening, holding banners that read “SHEIN = Ecocide” and “Fast Fashion = Fast Destruction.”
Fast fashion is ‘fast’ because of cheap (and often child) labour and poor working conditions, where workers may get one day off per month, work from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. or later, and still barely earn enough to cover their bills.
The cheap materials lead to short-lived garments and constant overconsumption. Add to that Shein’s numerous accusations of design theft and intellectual property infringement, and the picture darkens further.
As a makeup enthusiast, I was surprised to learn that SHEIN has its own beauty line, Sheglam, — equally popular thanks to its low prices. ‘Bold, affordable, high-quality beauty,’ the website claims.
With lip balms in cute packaging at just €5 and contouring sticks resembling celebrity-brand versions for as little as €6, it’s easy to see why teenage girls are drawn in. The marketing clearly targets young audiences through social media.
Beyond fashion and beauty, SHEIN was also found selling prohibited weapons (category A in France, banned since September 5). These included knives, cutlasses, ‘zombie’ machetes, and other stabbing or electric weapons — all available on the platform without verification or justification.
Another alarming incident was the sale of a pedopornographic sex doll described on the website as a ‘male masturbation toy with an erotic body and a real vagina and anus.’ The doll resembled a little girl dressed in a nightgown and holding a teddy bear. Ordering such a doll online was as easy as buying a machete — normalising and radicalising pedophile behaviour, according to Véronique Béchu, former police commander and director of the Observatory Against Harassment and Digital Violence Against Minors. It wasn’t until a week ago that Shein banned the sale of sex dolls worldwide.
Despite these controversies, 50, 000 visitors attended the boutique in just five days, according to Frédéric Merlin, Groupe SGM president.
For now, Shein has avoided legal prosecution in France but remains ‘under close surveillance’. The Economy Ministry stated, under the Prime Minister’s order, proceedings would last for ‘as long as necessary for the platform to prove to authorities that all of its content is finally in compliance with our laws and regulations’.
Multiple petitions against Shein’s presence at BHV are circulating online, including one launched by Emmanuel Grégoire, a candidate for future mayor of Paris.
Alternative solutions
It’s easy to tell people not to shop at fast-fashion stores when Shein sells T-shirts for €3 and the cost of living keeps rising. Most people in line for the opening mentioned the same thing: ‘It’s cheap, and I don’t have money.’
And that’s fair — moralising doesn’t pay rent.
But Paris doesn’t lack alternatives. The city is full of vintage and second-hand shops — from Kilo Shop and Guerrisol to more curated spaces like Thanx God I’m a V.I.P. or Episode. Platforms like Vinted, which started in Europe, make reselling and reusing clothes easier than ever. Even luxury brands have begun investing in second-hand initiatives, with Galeries Lafayette’s ‘ReStore’ section offering pre-loved designer pieces.
Beyond resale, local French sustainable brands are quietly redefining what ‘fashionable’ means: VEJA, Maison Cléo, Atelier Tuffery, or 1083 focus on ethical production, transparency, and timeless design. They’re not as cheap as Shein, but they represent another model — slower, long-lasting, and ultimately more human.
The real solution lies in accessibility: making sustainable options affordable and visible, while holding corporations accountable. Until then, blaming individuals for choosing what they can afford misses the bigger picture.
What’s next?
Shein’s arrival at BHV isn’t just a business move; but rather a mirror reflecting the contradictions of our time — where sustainability slogans and environmental agreements coexist with disposable trends, and where a Parisian department store that once embodied craftsmanship now hosts an empire of mass production.
Whether Shein’s stay in France becomes a turning point or just another footnote will depend on what happens next: how consumers, lawmakers, and BHV respond.
For now, as La Bohème plays on the sixth floor of BHV, the irony feels complete — a nostalgic song about art, scarcity and simplicity echoing through a temple of overconsumption.
Written by Julie Antropova.
