Christophe Castaner steps up to the plate. The appointment, revealed in December, of the former Minister of the Interior (2018-2020) within a committee intended to advise the Chinese giant Shein on questions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) had sparked controversy, the fast-fashion company is regularly singled out for its environmental impact and the working conditions of its employees. The French ready-to-wear sector denounced a “shameful partnership”.
Until then, he had said little about the reasons which led him to this reconversion or about the criticism he received. In La Tribune Dimanche, published this Sunday, Christophe Castaner breaks the silence. He explains that for him it is the logical continuation of his consulting work, Shein being one of the dozen companies that the former minister supports in their development strategy, recalls the weekly.
« Shein is a young company which has experienced rapid growth” and which “is reaching a maturity which allows it to adopt an approach of continuous improvement in each of its markets. She understood that it was up to her, as an important actor, to take virtuous initiatives,” he defends.
Some of his detractors believed that he was only chosen for his address book and to carry out lobbying missions. Accusations that annoy him. “Some people think I’m stupid enough to only have the ability to have an address book. It is a contempt according to which, because we come from politics and move into the private sector, we would not be capable of doing anything else,” he said.
Christophe Castaner also attacks the proposed law aimed at taxing fast-fashion products to make them less attractive. The text awaits examination by the Senate, after being adopted in March 2024 by the National Assembly. “We are in the process of creating a VAT on products deemed too popular: there is a moralizing effect in all this which exasperates me,” he declared, assuring that Shein “democratizes fashion for everyone”.
The lawyer and former Secretary of State Nicole Guedj and the former director of Medef Bernard Spitz were also appointed alongside him within the same body to provide advice to the fast-fashion company. The brand offers 7,200 new clothing models per day on average.
Related News :