Depop & Second-Hand Selling
Peak COVID, Depop was a space for me to imagine what life outside of lockdown could look like. I had so much fun curating my dream summer wardrobe during this time of uncertainty by expanding outside of my style and trying new things. There was one pair of zebra-printed leather pants I bought from Depop. Realistically, when would I wear these in the middle of a pandemic? That almost made it more fun; the unknown of where life was going initiated this new spark of creativity in my fashion and inspired me to dive into many different directions of my style. I recycled so much of my closet by replacing it with more unique pieces. The excitement of receiving my little packages in the mail keeps me inspired today. I can confidently say Depop has helped me discover my style and love for fashion and trends and learn more about sustainability in the fashion industry.
The reselling process does make me wonder if it is a sustainable way to shop. There is a sudden mass production of clothing being made by climate-damaging fast fashion sites that are flooding reselling websites such as Depop. With this insane amount of clothing being produced, our planet has enough clothes to dress the next six generations. Aside from half of the fast fashion pieces wearing out of style within a week, these items can end up in landfills. Landfills pollute the air, water, and land in communities and will only continue to get larger and more prominent with the amount of clothing produced. But what does all this have to do with Depop?
Based on my experience on the app, I see countless posts of items bought from fast fashion sites initially for super cheap. Sellers will upsell them for crazy amounts of money, branding them as high-end or designer clothes when they are just knock-offs of the original piece. It's conflicting because most people don't even know the companies they support and how damaging they can be to our environment.
But at the same time, is this something that Depop can regulate? It's hard to process because Depop promotes sustainability and educates its buyers and sellers about its mission to a more circular distribution of fashion. Still, users have the freedom to buy and sell whatever they want. Depop can't stop this from happening. As much as this company does not support purchasing items from climate-damaging companies, how should they filter them out?
As there can be negatives with reselling, Depop does help to circulate fashion and prevent the high demand for clothing production when users continue to buy and sell. I like selling on the app because it ensures that items I no longer wear end up in someone else's closet instead of in a landfill. Depop is the perfect platform used to be a creative outlet for expanding your closet while representing everyone's unique styles, and I hope their mission continues to reach larger audiences and overall have a positive impact on discovering your style.
https://safety.depop.com/depops-mission/what-we-stand-for/
@bellamcnulty