Italy’s competition watchdog said Monday it has fined the company responsible for Shein’s websites in Europe one million euros ($1.15 million) for false and confusing claims about the e-commerce giant’s efforts to be environmentally “green”.The AGCM watchdog accuses the China-founded fast-fashion colossal of having “adopted a misleading communication strategy regarding the characteristics and environmental impact of its clothing products”.The fine was imposed on Infinite Styles Services Co. Ltd, the company responsible for managing Shein’s product trading websites in Europe, the authority said in a statement.The AGCM accused it of “misleading and/or deceptive environmental messages and claims… in the promotion and sale of Shein-branded clothing products”.These were “in some instances, vague, generic, and/or overly emphatic, and in others, misleading or omissive”.In particular, claims about the recyclability of products “were found to be either false or at least confusing”, it said.Consumers could easily be led to believe Shein products were made exclusively from sustainable materials and fully recyclable, “a statement which, given the fibres used and current recycling systems, does not reflect reality”.The AGCM also took issue with the retailer’s claims it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030 and reach zero emissions by 2050.These “vague” pledges by a company which has seen phenomenal growth in recent years were “contradicted by an actual increase in Shein’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 and 2024”, it said.In a statement to AFP, Shein said it had “cooperated fully” with the watchdog’s investigation and “took immediate action” to address the concerns, saying all environmental claims on the website were now “clear, specific and compliant with regulations”.Environmentalists have long warned of the damage wreaked by the fast-fashion sector’s wasteful trend of mass producing low-cost clothes that are quickly thrown away.Fast fashion uses up massive amounts of water, produces hazardous chemicals and clogs up landfills in poor countries with textile waste, while also generating greenhouse gases in production, transport and disposal.

Most stock markets bounced on Monday as the chances of US interest rate cuts following a big miss on US jobs creation offset concerns about the world’s top economy.The broad advances followed a sell-off on Wall Street in reaction to the non-farm payrolls data, which compounded news on Friday that dozens of countries would be hit with levies ranging from 10 to 41 percent.With the date of implementation for the tariffs pushed back to Thursday, focus will be on talks this week between Washington and other capitals on paring down some of the tolls.Traders were taken by surprise by figures showing the US economy created just 73,000 jobs in July — against 104,000 forecast — while unemployment rose to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent. Job gains from June and May were also revised down by nearly 260,000.The figures stoked concerns that Trump’s tariffs are beginning to bite, with inflation also seen pushing back towards three percent.The reading also saw the president fire the commissioner of labour statistics, accusing her of manipulating employment data for political reasons.Bets on the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates at its September meeting shot up following the jobs numbers, with some analysts predicting it will go for a 50-basis-point reduction, rather than the regular 25 points.Yields on US Treasury bonds fell sharply as investors priced in the cuts.Asian investors started the day on the back foot but fought back as it wore on.Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Manila, Mumbai and Bangkok all rose, though there were losses in Tokyo, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta.London, Paris and Frankfurt ticked up but Swiss shares sank more than two percent as traders there returned from a long weekend to react to Trump’s 39 percent duty on the country.US futures rose, after Friday’s selloff saw the S&P 500 and Dow each lose more than one percent and the Nasdaq more than two percent — with some also questioning whether a recent rally to multiple records has gone too far.The dollar continued to struggle against its major peers after tanking on the jobs report.George Brown, senior economist at Schroders, said before the jobs reading “all signs pointed to a solid US labour market. But that has been put into question by July’s US jobs report. Concerningly, both May and June were revised down by… the biggest two-month net downward revision outside of the pandemic”.He added: While it is important not to read too much into one data point, especially one as noisy as non-farm payrolls, the news that job creation was below 20,000 in May and June will certainly give the Federal Reserve food for thought.”Our base case had been for the Fed to hold rates for the rest of 2025, but any further fragility could encourage an earlier easing cycle.”Investors will now be keenly awaiting every utterance from Fed boss Jerome Powell leading up to the next policy meeting, not least because of the pressure Trump has put on him to lower rates.Observers said news that governor Adriani Kugler will step down from the bank six months early will give the president a chance to increase his influence on decision-making.”Fed credibility, and the veracity of the statistics on which they base their policy decisions, are both now under the spotlight,” said National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill. “Fed officials, such as New York President John Williams speaking after the data, profess to be open minded about the September Fed meeting, but Mr Market has already decided they are cutting — ending Friday 88 percent priced for a 25-basis-points rate reduction.”Oil were barely moved despite supply worries after OPEC and other key producers agreed Sunday to another output hike and amid signs Trump’s tariffs were impacting the economy. The commodity sank almost three percent Friday.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.3 percent at 40,290.70 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 24,733.45 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 3,583.31 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 9,106.37Dollar/yen: UP at 147.99 yen from 147.43 yen on FridayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1556 from $1.1586Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3274 from $1.3276Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.05 pence from 87.25 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $67.41 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $69.67 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 1.2 percent at 43,588.58 (close)