Fast-fashion giant Shein faces backlash over Paris store opening and
sales of childlike sex dolls
[November 05, 2025] By
SAMUEL PETREQUIN
PARIS (AP) — Fast-fashion giant Shein is facing a fresh wave of
controversy as it opens its first permanent store in Paris on Wednesday
inside one of the city’s most iconic department stores.
The launch of Shein, which has long drawn criticism over its poor green
credentials and labor practices, in the heart of France’s fashion
capital has triggered a backlash from environmental groups, Paris City
Hall, and France's ready-to-wear industry. The retailer is also under
fire after French authorities last week found sex dolls with childlike
features listed on the retailer’s website.
The case has been referred to prosecutors, and the government has warned
that the global e-commerce platform could be barred from the French
market if such content reappears.
In response, Shein said it has banned all sex-doll products, and
temporarily removed its adult products category for review. The company
has also launched an investigation to determine how the listings
bypassed its screening measures.
Several dozen protesters camped outside the BHV department store on
Wednesday morning, while some shoppers queued ahead of the opening. An
online petition opposing the Paris opening has surpassed 120,000
signatures, and child-protection and environmental groups have condemned
Shein.
“It’s a black day for our industry,” Thibaut Ledunois, director of
entrepreneurship and innovation at the French federation of women’s
ready-to-wear, told The Associated Press. “Shein is developing a
beautiful showcase in our country, justifying all the bad, and sad and
horrible business that they develop all around the world.”
The Société des Grands Magasins (SGM), which owns the BHV Marais
department store in downtown Paris, called the sale of the sex dolls
unacceptable, but praised Shein for its swift response to defuse the
controversy.
The BHV has been going through financial struggles in recent years and
the SGM believes the arrival of Shein will help revive business — even
as some brands have chosen to leave the store in protest.
“We are proud to have a partner who has spoken out firmly," said Karl-Stéphane
Cottendin, the chief operating officer of SGM. "We are very happy to be
opening the boutique.”
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Clothes by Chinese company Shein are seen in the BHV (Bazar de
l'Hotel de Ville) general store, ahead of the Shein stand opening,
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
 Founded in China in 2012 and now
based in Singapore, Shein has risen rapidly to become a global
fast-fashion giant. Selling mostly Chinese-made clothes and products
at bargain prices, the retailer has drawn criticism over allegations
that its supply chains may be tainted by forced labor, including
from China’s far-west Xinjiang province, where rights groups say
serious human rights abuses were committed by Beijing against
members of the ethnic Uyghur group and other Muslim minorities.
Cottendin dismissed those concerns and praised Shein for doing a
“tremendous job” to improve its practices.
“Today, it’s a brand that produces under much more legitimate
conditions,” he said. "We ensured that the entire production chain,
from manufacturing to delivery, complies strictly with French and
European regulations and standards.”
Fast fashion, characterized by a constant turnover of collections
and very low prices, has flooded European markets with low-quality
items, driving environmental, social, and economic costs. The United
Nations has warned that the textile industry alone is responsible
for nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to
water depletion.
France is now moving to curb the growing influence of companies
based in Southeast Asian countries such as Shein, Temu, or
AliExpress. A draft law targets fast fashion with measures such as
consumer awareness campaigns, advertising bans, taxes on small
imported parcels, and stricter waste management rules. The Senate
adopted the proposal earlier this year, and the government has
notified the European Commission ahead of a joint committee meeting
to finalize the text.
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