Climate Minister Eamon Ryan had defended Chinese fast-fashion company SHEIN opening its European headquarters in Dublin City.
Just weeks after Mr Ryan said that future generations will be disgusted by fast fashion, he stated that he did not know what SHEIN is.
This is despite regular criticism of the company’s environmental impact. Their workers’ conditions have also been slated.
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The IDA announced last week that SHEIN had launched its EMA headquarters in Dublin. Minister for Enterprise, Simon Coveney said that he “warmly welcomed” the announcement that could create 30 new jobs in 2023.
The company has also opened several pop-up shops around Ireland.
The opening came just weeks after Minister Ryan told the Irish Examiner that he believed “fast fashion is one of the issues that people will in future look back on”.
He said: “The way we really just buy something, use it three times and then throw it out, that's an example of that disposability.
“I think we will look back at that and think that it's not as classy as buying something really good and wearing it a hundred times."
When asked on Tuesday if he was concerned about SHEIN opening in Dublin, Mr Ryan said he was “not fully familiar with the company”.
He said: “I was making the general point, which is true, that in that waste action plan that we are implementing and our whole green procurement, fashion is probably the most difficult.
“It's the hardest area to recycle fabrics. It does need to be tackled at source in terms of European and national regulations.
“Someone having a new European headquarters here doesn't impact our ability or our intention of regulating and introducing the waste management measures.
“I'm not fully aware of all the details of that company, I’m just being honest about that.
“But because someone has a shop… Well, firstly, you can't completely restrict and say, ‘one retailer, yes, another no’.
“But that won't stop us implementing some regulations and other mechanisms we will have to try and address that.
“It's very hard when the global financial global fabric industry is based around an unsustainable model. That's very hard to change at national level.
“I don't think the way for us to do it will be banning certain shops and not others.
“I think I think we work with our European colleagues and nationally to try and steer us in a more sustainable direction.”
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