Shein pop-up store opens on Ste-Catherine amid environmental protests from Équiterre
Fast-fashion retailer returns to Montreal through August 30 as activists highlight textile waste. Quebec's clothing landfill doubled to 344,000 metric tons in a decade.
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The Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein opened a pop-up store on Ste-Catherine Street on Thursday, drawing customers seeking bargains—and environmental advocates protesting what they call disposable fashion.
Equiterre activists arrived with a garbage truck and a banner reading "Non à la mode jetable" (No to use-and-throw fashion) to demonstrate the waste generated by ultra-fast-fashion models. "Don't let the cheap prices fool you," said Daniel Rotman, executive director of Équiterre. "Who's going to pay for the bill of overflowing landfills and the environmental health impacts that come with it? Not Shein. It's all of us."
The protest underscores a widening waste crisis. In Quebec, the amount of clothing thrown into landfills has more than doubled over 10 years, reaching 344,000 metric tons in 2023, according to Recyc-Québec. The agency identified fast fashion as the primary driver of this surge. Earlier this week, Montreal's Auditor General reported that the city continues to dump nearly half its garbage into already-full landfills.
Rotman called on the federal government to tighten regulations on fast-fashion retailers, pointing to France as a model. The French parliament adopted a law on June 29, 2026, banning advertising for Shein, Temu, and AliExpress, with the advertising ban taking effect from January 1, 2027.
Shein's pop-up runs through Sunday, August 30, selling clothing, accessories, and home items.
Has Montreal considered advertising restrictions on fast-fashion platforms similar to France's approach?
What percentage of Montreal's landfill capacity remains before the cited full landfills reach complete saturation?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
The facts
When is the Shein pop-up store open in Montreal?
The Shein pop-up store on Ste-Catherine Street is open through Sunday, August 30, 2026.
How much clothing waste ends up in Quebec landfills?
Quebec sent 344,000 metric tons of clothing to landfills in 2023, more than double the amount from a decade earlier, according to Recyc-Québec.
What did France do about fast-fashion advertising?
French parliament adopted a law on June 29, 2026, banning advertising for Shein, Temu, and AliExpress, with the advertising ban taking effect from January 1, 2027.
