The German Textile and Fashion Association (Gesamtverband textil+mode) welcomes the initiation of proceedings by the European Commission against the Chinese online retailer Temu.

Managing Director Uwe Mazura: “While manufacturers and retailers have to comply with more and more requirements and reporting obligations, which also results in higher costs, Chinese e-commerce providers are circumventing and undermining what is the law in the European Union and Germany. This unfair competition at the expense of manufacturers and retailers in Europe must be stopped and consumers must be protected from products that are hazardous to health and risky.”

As early as May 2024, the Confederation of the German Textile and Fashion Industry called on politicians to take action in a seven-point paper. “Brussels is taking action. That's a good sign. Online retailers who violate EU law and deceive and endanger consumers must be held accountable,” said Uwe Mazura.

Every day, 400,000 parcels arrive in Germany from China via online platforms such as Temu and Shein. According to a study by the ibi-research Institute of the University of Regensburg, clothing and shoes account for the largest share of products sold.

The German Textile and Fashion Association is calling for the following additional steps:

+ Bringing forward the abolition of the €150 customs exemption limit to the earliest possible date;

+ enabling market surveillance to carry out and control more sample purchases; coordinating market surveillance across Europe;

+ a requirement to appoint so-called authorized recipients at national and European level who can be held liable for infringements;

+ amendment or suspension of supply chain legislation and other regulations that burden the domestic economy but which companies from outside the EU can evade.

https://textil-mode.de/