Depop... A blessing and a curse.

https://instagram.com/cottonbro/

I have spent the majority of this lockdown rewarding myself for being an upstanding citizen and not leaving the house, by buying the entire contents of Depop...

" I didn't leave the house today, I deserve that dress... "

" I washed my hands and that blouse is only €6... "

" I got out of bed today. * clicks add to cart*

You get my point.

Founded in 2011, Depop is an app where you can buy and sell your pre-loved clothes and much more! Depop helps creates a circular economy in the fashion industry by regenerating the clothes we wear by passing them on to someone else.

On average our clothes get between seven to ten wears before we consider them old and throw them out. Remember that floral summer dress you just had to have, you wore it out to a couple of barbecues and a boozy brunch with the girls, now it's in a creased mess at the back of your wardrobe, destined to be thrown out in your next wardrobe clear out.

Having a circular economy is super important right now especially in the fashion industry, there used to only be the four seasons spring / summer and autumn / winter, now there is a staggering 52  "micro" seasons in a fast fashion calendar. That's a new season each week! They want you to keep buying more and more, the fabric they use and how the garment is put together is at a low standard so when the edges start fraying after the first wash,  you throw it to the back of your wardrobe to await its eventual clear out cull and go shopping again.

But what if, instead of throwing out the causalities of the clear out you could sell them! Depop allows you to do this in a safe and simple way through Paypal. Simply upload pictures of what you are selling along with a short description about the item, sizing etc. You get some spare cash and someone else has a new dress they love just as much as you did when you first bought it!

I personally haven't begun my journey of selling anything on Depop yet, but I am a seasoned veteran in buying at this stage, I live for it! Last week alone I bought three dresses, a pair of denim shorts and a top. Lockdown has me buying cute outfits for when I can venture further than two kilometers and actually be around people again, but until then, they'll make for some cute Instagram content in the back garden.

Apart from my favorite charity shops, Depop is my go to if I need something to wear for an event or just fancy a new dress. You can find everything from the latest trend to vintage goodies.

There are some cons to Depop besides your bank balance after a seller has a 20% off sale.
Thankfully I have never come across any, but there are a few shady people on the app, scammers and the likes. I have heard stories of people buying from a seller and never receiving the item, sellers not communicating or blocking them when they inquire about the item and then they have to contact Paypal directly to try get their money back.

Depop also takes 10% when you sell an item, then Paypal will also charge a small fee. Although, that's not really a con I suppose, they have to make some money too. But it's something to be mindful of when you are pricing items for sale.

Overall, I love Depop. It's a great way to make some extra money by selling your old clothes and then blowing the extra money buying some #newtoyou clothes. You can feel good knowing you are helping the environment and saving more clothes that could have ended up in landfill.

One of the many ways you can help the earth today.

Happy earth day!

yours sustainably,


                          Hayley x