Having too many clothes in their closet was an issue for many Americans, but a solution came out on Nov 1, 2011, when the app Depop was created. Depop is an online platform where users buy and sell clothing, promoting cleaning out one’s closet in addition to recycling old clothes before they hit the landfill.
Those who sell are known as ‘resellers.’. They buy clothes cheap from thrift stores, among other sources, and sell them for a higher price.
Reseller Noah Anderson is a veteran when it comes to Depop.
“Well, I don’t have a lot of money to buy clothes,” Anderson said. “So I have to do it for myself too.”
A reseller’s duties are extensive. They commit to going to thrift stores multiple times a week—not to look for themselves, but to look for items that will sell for a profit. Resellers then go into the ‘thrift,’ search the store top to bottom, and purchase what they want. After purchasing, they wash and dry the items, and then they go into the listing process. A well-lit area is necessary for taking appealing photos for sales. They fold the cloth in the most eye-catching shape, something that will make the listing stand out among thousands of others. They then have to upload the pictures onto Depop and write a caption describing the clothing with its measurements. After they do all of the previous steps, they can put it up on the website with a catchy caption and notable hashtags to grab more eyes.
Once an item is sold, they go into the third phase of the process, which is shipping. Depop sends the shipper a prepaid shipping label to print and attach to a package. The two common methods of printing are using a typical paper printer or using a thermal printer and giving a sticker to attach to the package.
Once all of these steps are completed, they run to the Post Office and send it off through the prepaid package bin. However, the sale isn’t over until the buyer receives their item, which can take a whole lot longer than wanted. If any delays occur, the buyer often feels as if it’s the seller’s fault.
Depop also brought environmental benefits to the market. The company provides an analytic showing how many gallons of water are saved in addition to the items sold. Specifically, Depop saves roughly 30 gallons of water.
Depop’s concept aligns closely with thrifting, the same idea of going through so many different items to find what they want, whilst at the same time giving clothes a new life.
“I think that thrifting and Depop are different,” said Eliza Farr, a Depop buyer. “I think that they’re similar in the way that they’re both good for the environment and sustainable.”
Farr believes strongly in the idea of buying secondhand and loves the ease of purchasing on the website.
“As a buyer, I enjoy it because I can find unique items and sustainable items too,” Farr said.
Prices are often a scare for many users; seeing such big numbers causes them to be off-putting. As an experienced buyer, Farr reassures that buyers can submit offers for their preferred price.
Depop also helps spread fast fashion, a trend wherein expensive clothing is produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends. Fast fashion will use more natural resources than it’s worth, causing many environmental issues. Once the trend is over, the clothing will meet the landfill, and everything will have gone to waste.
Buying secondhand clothing promotes an idea of sustainability, and Lukas Dinklemann, a Depop seller, and buyer, is a strong believer in that.
“When I was younger, I used to buy clothes on Shein because I thought that was cool,” Dinklemann said. “But now, as I’ve grown up, I’ve started to realize, like, I actually enjoy clothes more that other people have worn before me.”
Furthermore, Dinklemann is a strong supporter of protecting the environment by using Depop to give clothes a new life: “Depop is so interesting; it gives the opportunity to save clothes from being tossed away to the environment, giving them a new life.”
