With rising concerns about the sustainability of the current clothing industry, Depop is being dubbed as the eco-friendly fashion app we all need.
One man's trash is another man's treasure is the anecdote which accurately describes Depop. Second-hand buying is on the rise and rather than going into a charity shop, Depop allows you to buy pre-owned clothes on a downloadable app. Created in the UK by Simon Beckerman, it's easy to use format is part of Depop's undeniable success, and makes it accessible to any age.
Sites like eBay and Gumtree don't specialise in targeting the younger market. Depop's focus is on attracting millennials who have a disposable income. Millennials make up the majority of Depop's consumers, as the app announced over ninety percent of its thirteen million users are under the age of twenty-six. To target its young audience, Depop uses familiar aspects from other social media apps, such as the addition of hashtags, the discover page and emulating the iconic Instagram timeline layout. It's never been easier to get your hands on good quality second-hand clothes.
Young entrepreneurs are utilising Depop as a way of entering the fashion industry, with many young adults making profit from buying stock and selling it at a higher price on the app. Successful shops usually have a niche and display aesthetically pleasing pictures on their profile page.
"Don't underestimate the fact it's still hard work"
Leeds local Amy Rhodes Johnson is among the millions of sellers, with her shop Clararhodes boasting a huge thirty-one thousand followers. Depop sellers have become fashion influencers as they refine their sense of style and showcase their personality to their followers, with most sellers running Instagram accounts alongside their shop. After starting her online shop five years ago, Amy sells around fifty items a month and is part of Depop's Level Up team, which offers advice to young Depop entrepreneurs, as well as encouraging a sense of community among sellers.
Photo credit: Clararhodes on Depop. Image design: Gemma Lavers
The ability to message other sellers directly means the Depop community has become an integral part of the app. They allow sellers to be in control of their business, but sellers still have some guidance and support from experts.
"People see my shop with my followers and nice pictures, but what they don't realise is that most of the time it's me sat in my bedroom alone, uploading items for hours on end... and it can get isolating sometimes."
Depop recognises the hard work top sellers put into their businesses, and often invites them into their headquarters for workshops.
"It was strange for me to sit in the Depop HQ in London and think that I've done this for myself and all my hard work has led me here, meeting some of the most successful Depop sellers in the country."
Amy started her business with no savings or extra money, which meant that Clararhodes had to be earning money to allow her to continue with it.
She admits she's learnt a lot during the five years. Within the last year, Amy's made a conscious effort to highlight the environmental damage fast fashion is causing, and combats this by keeping her Depop shop stocked with high-quality items at affordable prices.
"Even as a small business owner, I don't want to earn money in a way I feel guilty about, so I try my hardest to be sustainable, like I use decomposable eco-packaging. For buyers, people definitely feel less guilty buying second-hand clothes as they feel like they're doing their part in helping the environment."
Fashion trends change quickly, but attitudes towards certain types of clothes, for example vintage and branded items, tend to change slower. Celebrating uniqueness is being championed, and Amy explains the main motive for consumers to shop on Depop is because people just want to wear something which nobody else has seen before. Large fashion labels don't offer those unique and quirky vintage garments people look for on second-hand sites.
"Depop is changing our generations outlook on second-hand clothes, you don't need the newest thing and it's cool to get vintage stuff - it's now become trendy again to be yourself."
Cutting environmental corners
Fast fashion has changed the industry. Clothes are inexpensive, of poor quality, and trends adapt at a faster pace as people shop more frequently. To keep up, big fashion labels like Pretty Little Thing and ASOS are churning out huge amounts of mass-produced clothes, which they make for as little as one penny and then sell on for a relatively low price. 'New in' or 'trending now' collections allow consumers to purchase on trend items during the micro-seasons throughout the whole year, rather than waiting for spring/summer and autumn/winter collections to drop.
The continuous consumption of fast fashion gives companies the motivation to produce huge amounts of stock, some of which are not being sold. The low prices and speed of production allow consumers to buy an item and wear it once, then throw it away. YouGov released figures stating four in ten people throw unwanted clothes in the general rubbish bin, when they could be recycled or donated.
Brands are ignoring the environmental impact of the fast fashion cycle as production relies on non-renewable energy resources like oil, fertilisers and chemicals, making the industry responsible for 10% of the worlds emissions. People forget there is an environmental cost behind each top or pair of jeans that are worn.
The ethics behind the production of clothes is often overlooked too, as exploitation of sweatshop workers is extremely high, eighty percent of which are women. Missguided sold a one pound bikini set in 2019 which raised concerns about how the bikini was being made for so cheap. Unfortunately, the answer is sweatshops. Sweatshops involve children working in inhumane conditions for little money, their human rights often ignored by bosses. The current clothing process can't be maintained forever, in both the environmental and manufacturing sense.
An attitude reversal is needed from consumers of fashion and large companies to establish an environmentally friendly way forward. 'I can't wear the same top twice' is a phrase often spoken by women (usually before a night out), I know I'm guilty of saying this. Clothes need to be of a better quality and worn more than just once, as they're currently being treated as disposable items.
Transforming the fashion industry
Depop is battling against big fashion brands to challenge the throwaway culture by allowing people an easy way of re-selling worn or unwanted clothes. But, the app has their work cut out as buying second-hand becomes less attractive when fashion sites are consistently offering sales and discounts. Fashion website Nastygal almost always has a forty percent off code, encouraging customers to shop by manipulating them into think they're getting a bargain.
Unlike big labels, Depop allows its customers to experiment with their garments by seeing how real people style them. By using Depop to both buy and re-sell clothes, you are part of a community dedicated to helping overthrow the harm fast fashion has done to the environment and this 'throwaway' mentality. Every company has a role to play in protecting our environment.
Depop are its own market leader with little competition, and they're paving the way for sustainable fashion websites as they continue to successfully encourage people to shop second-hand. It seems that if there is a way that we can help slow down the production and consumption of fast fashion, it's to buy our clothes from Depop.
