Shein has been fined around €22m by French authorities over issues relating to returns, product traceability information and order confirmations.

France’s Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control, known as the DGCCRF, issued two penalties against the fast fashion giant following an investigation into several ecommerce platforms, many of which are based outside Europe.

The watchdog fined Shein €16.7m over order confirmation issues and a further €5.8m over alleged failures linked to returns and environmental quality information.

The latter penalty was issued to Infinite Style Ecommerce Co Ltd, which handles sales for Shein. The DGCCRF accused the business of failing to comply with rules giving shoppers a 14-day period to reconsider certain purchases and return them free of charge.

It also alleged Shein had failed to provide mandatory traceability information, including details of where its clothing was woven, dyed and manufactured, and had not disclosed the presence of microplastics in some fabrics.

A second fine was imposed on Shein subsidiary Infinite Styles Services Limited over alleged consumer law violations.

Shein said it would contest both penalties, describing them as “manifestly disproportionate”.

A spokesperson said: “Technical issues, with no impact on consumers and already addressed where necessary, have been used as the basis for an exceptional penalty.

“We therefore intend to strongly contest both sanctions in their entirety.”

The business added: “There has never been any doubt about the fairness of transactions on our platform, or the quality and safety of the products and services offered.”

The latest penalties come after France fined Shein €40m in July over misleading discounts.

French authorities also sought to suspend Shein’s marketplace, although that move was rejected by the Paris Court of Appeals in March.

The retailer has faced growing scrutiny in France since last year, when the country’s consumer watchdog found child-like sex dolls and banned weapons listed on its marketplace.

Following the discovery, Shein said it had removed the products and banned sex dolls from its site globally.

Serge Papin, France’s minister for small and medium-sized businesses, said in a post on X that authorities would continue to take action against such platforms “until they completely change their practices, or leave our market”.

The latest sanctions bring the total fines imposed by France against Shein to more than €210m.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter