In the race against the lowest price, issues such as sustainability and product safety sometimes fall out of focus. This is now also the case with the TÜV Association, which advocates the establishment and compliance of stricter rules for fast fashion retailers in a position paper. Above all, there are calls for stricter enforcement of the Digital Service Act (DAS). The term ultra-fast fashion mainly includes online marketplaces such as Temu, Shein, Aliexpress, but also eBay and Amazon often lure customers with “extremely low prices and high discounts”. For example, the association quotes the Federal Network Agency, according to which around 92% of the goods ordered from third countries contradicted EU regulations. Or the HDE trade association, according to which 60% of the products supplied are not marketable due to violations of chemical law.
Unsafe products must be quickly removed from the platforms and manipulative advertising must be stopped. It must also be ensured that a contact person in the EU can always be reached. Another point is the 45 million user limit for large marketplaces: The TÜV Association is calling for a reduction here in order to get more online retailers to comply with the stricter requirements. “In online trading we have less of a regulation deficit than a control and enforcement deficit,” says Dr. Joachim Bühler, Managing Director of the TÜV Association. “Adequate resources for customs and market surveillance are necessary across the EU.”
According to TÜV, anyone who sells products in the EU must comply with the requirements of the regulations on product safety and market surveillance. In addition to safety standards, the requirements also include a recall and reporting obligation. The responsibilities are also defined in this way: Manufacturers outside the EU would have to appoint authorized representatives who accept and carry out the manufacturer’s obligations on their behalf. “It must be ensured that consumers and authorities have a legally responsible contact person in the EU who is responsible for product conformity and can also take recourse in the event of damage,” adds Bühler.