Shein pop-up store in Milan

Shein faces growing backlash in Italy

After facing scrutiny in France, Chinese-founded e-commerce giant Shein is now meeting opposition in Italy. The company is expanding operations in Milan — the centre of Italian fashion. While consumers have embraced the platform’s low-cost clothing, industry leaders and the government warn that “ultra-fast fashion” threatens Italy’s textile sector.

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Real-term wages are falling. Image relates to minimum wage with hands holding low denomination euro notes and coins.

Italy faces real-term wages decline and trade shifts

Italy is grappling with a dual economic challenge: workers’ real hourly wages are falling, while export and import flows are shifting markedly. Data released this week by the Istat reveal that, in September 2025, hourly contract wages were 8.8 % lower in real terms compared with January 2021. At the same time, nominal wages held […]

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