French court bans Shein from selling products imitating Lacoste crocodile in EU

Paris - A French court on Thursday provisionally banned the Asian e-commerce giant from selling items on its platform that feature the famous Lacoste crocodile logo.

Pending a final ruling, the Paris judicial court “has taken provisional measures throughout the European Union”. The aim is to “prevent infringement of Lacoste’s renowned trademarks resulting from the sale of clothing, jewellery and fashion accessories on the Shein platform”.

The judge “found a likelihood of counterfeit by imitation” and “a clear risk of confusion for consumers”, according to the statement presenting the court's decision.

It also “awarded Lacoste a provisional sum of 110,000 euros towards compensation for damages”.

The Paris judicial court also ordered Shein “to publish the decision” on its homepage and applications “for one month to prevent further damage by raising consumer awareness”.

The decision was handed down by the third civil chamber, which specialises in intellectual property. It was made by a “pre-trial judge”, who intervenes during the case’s investigation phase before a final ruling is made.

“In this capacity, they can order various provisional measures” to stop any harm pending a final decision from the court.

Contacted by AFP, Shein France stated that the company intended to respond with a statement in the evening.

A symbol of ultra-fast fashion and its environmental cost, including transport and recycling, Shein is under scrutiny by French authorities.

On Thursday, the government presented a draft decree setting the amount of financial penalties for products from fast fashion companies like Shein. The text proposes a penalty of up to 20 euros per item by 2030, capped at 50 percent of the pre-tax price.

The items concerned include boxers, briefs, socks, shirts, jeans, skirts, dresses, swimwear, coats, jackets, trousers, jumpers, T-shirts and polo shirts sold on Asian platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress.

At the end of June, Parliament definitively passed a bill to curb the rise of fast fashion, epitomised by Shein, with its low-quality clothing at rock-bottom prices that generates mountains of waste.

In mid-June, the Parisian department store BHV announced it was ending its partnership with Shein.