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Montreal, August 27, 2026 - As a new Shein store opens today in Montreal, Équiterre is condemning the business model of ultra-fast fashion, which has harmful impacts at every level. The environmental organization is calling on the federal government to rapidly intervene to curb the rise of ultra-fast fashion in the country.
The environmental organization is concerned about the growing adoption of ultra-fast fashion by a rising share of the population, given that these foreign platforms are not required to meet the same standards as local companies.
Our landfills are overflowing with disposable fashion
The low prices of ultra-fast fashion are appealing to consumers, who are dealing with a sharp increase in the cost of living. But behind the attractive prices is a business model that encourages multiple purchases of items that are designed not to last. Up to 10,000 new products are put out for sale by Shein every day.
The quality of these disposable fashion items is so poor that some donation centres and second-hand clothing stores are removing brands like Temu and Shein from their shelves. These barely-worn garments, made from harmful materials, therefore end up in our landfills, and it’s the citizens collectively, who have to foot the bill—not the multinational corporations that produce garments.
“Shein’s store is temporary but the environmental impact of its garments and business model is not. Ultra-fast fashion platforms take the ‘disposable fashion’ model to the extreme, producing more and more, faster and faster, and it doesn’t take long before its garments end up in a landfill,” says Daniel Rotman, Équiterre’s Executive Director.
The federal government must take action
In the context of an escalating trade war, it’s in the federal government’s best interest to encourage local purchasing. Équiterre is calling on Canada to follow France’s lead and tighten the regulations governing these mega-corporations, whose business model is unsustainable.
It must also ensure that foreign ultra-fast fashion platforms adhere to the same standards required of Canadian companies, to avoid unfair competition.
Équiterre's offices are located on Indigenous lands that have not been ceded by treaty, which we now call Montreal and Quebec City. We recognize that Indigenous peoples have protected their territories since immemorial times and have used their traditional knowledge to guard the lands and waters. We are grateful to live on these lands and are committed to continuing our efforts to protect them. Read more »
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