Depop Gentrification and the Middle-Class Superiority Complex
Tags: Sustainable Fashion, Sustianability, Environment, Environmental Justice, Environmental Issues

Depop Gentrification and the Middle-Class Superiority Complex

“Pause before you judge others for consuming fast fashion and recognize that this may come from necessity.” Kornelija Follow Dec 10, 2020 · 5 min read

Photo by allison christine on Unsplash

Fast fashion companies have come under scrutiny for their questionable sustainability and ethical practices. With Americans alone throwing away 14 million tonnes of clothes each year and the recent #PayUp campaign pressuring Fast Fashion giants to pay their workers, it’s no surprise that people have begun looking for alternative ways to source their clothing.

Thrift stores have often been presented as more sustainable alternatives to fast fashion — they don’t promote unethical labour and prevent more money from being poured into fast fashion brands. Second-hand shops also sell clothing at price points that are more accessible than sustainable brands for the average consumer.

Online market places, such as Depop and Vinted, also fall under the sustainable fashion umbrella. They are a godsend to anyone who doesn’t live in areas where thrift stores are readily available or who struggles to find clothing in their size in physical second-hand shops. But recently, these online stores that once served as places for people to resell unwanted clothing have morphed into something else — platforms that people can utilize for personal profit. With this rising trend of “ Depop gentrification”, questions about sustainability and class privilege have also come to light.

What is Gentrification?

Gentrification is defined as “the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, often displacing current inhabitants in the process.”

The term was originally used in the field of economics to describe the process of urban development where a neighbourhood develops rapidly over a period of time. Gentrification is shrouded in controversy, as it often comes with significant discrimination against minorities, women, children, and the poor.

While Depop and other market places are not physical neighbourhoods, their purpose has also been changed by gentrification. Originally founded to provide young people with a way to purchase cheap and sustainable fashion, Depop now has over 15 million users.

With this influx of users came a whole host of mostly middle-class people who saw Depop as a way to make a profit. These people can afford to bulk buy clothing items from thrift stores, which they then sell for a marked up price on these online stores. While this has significantly improved the Depop experience for people who can afford the more expensive items, it has pushed out those for whom Depop was one of the few ways to access affordable clothing, thus resulting in gentrification.

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

Gentrification and Lower-Income Communities

Originally, thrifting was something that was associated only with those who couldn’t afford branded clothing. People often had no other option than to buy secondhand and it’s only recently that purchasing used items has become a badge of honour amongst sustainability activists.

While thrifting definitely comes with a whole heap of benefits for the planet, the recent flooding of thrift stores with middle-income consumers harms communities who depended on them to sustain their clothing needs.

Your local thrift store once would have been a place where you could source an entire outfit for a tenner, but if you were to take a closer look at the selection of clothes nowadays, you’d notice that you are paying more for worse quality. Anything branded or desirable gets swept up by Depop resellers looking to restock their shops while significantly marking up the price.

This is a serious problem, as it leaves lower-income and working-class communities with few options to purchase clothes. This issue may be less severe in places such as the US, where charities such as Goodwill can rake in $5.3 billion in annual sales and are flooded with donations to replenish their stocks. But in the UK and other parts of the world, charity shops serve as places for underprivileged communities to meet their clothing needs. These charities mostly rely on local donations to replenish their stock and thus don’t have the large selection of items that thrift stores in the US may offer.

With any quality items being swept from thrift stores by online resellers and the spike in prices on once-affordable platforms like Depop, those with lower incomes are often forced to turn to fast fashion shops. Those who shop at fast fashion brands often face a lot of criticism from the sustainable community, especially from those who do shop second hand as an effort to be more environmentally friendly.

But we cannot simultaneously gentrify thrift stores and then shame those who are left with no other option than to turn to these unethical retailers. For higher-income earners, sourcing an outfit from a thrift store to add to an already established wardrobe is a privilege. For those who have to choose between purchasing a new sweater to keep them warm in the winter and being able to afford groceries next week, it’s a need.

Sustainability isn’t some new-age wave that is propelled forward by white girls on their coordinated Instagram feeds. It has been consistently practised by lower-income communities, who often have no other option. It’s important to recognize that any shaming for environmentally unsustainable behaviours is rooted in class privilege and to move towards a more intersectional form of environmental activism.

Photo by Prudence Earl on Unsplash

The Takeaway

Depop gentrification is a nuanced issue.

Working as a Depop resaler isn’t inherently immoral. It provides a source of income and employment to those who are unable to find employment, especially during a global pandemic. It allows young people to earn some additional cash to cover their daily expenses, and price mark ups can be justified by the hours spent sifting through racks of clothes, trying to scout pieces worth selling. Depop can provide those who want to be more sustainable but aren’t located near a thrift store with a way to purchase environmentally friendly pieces.

But it’s important to recognize that being able to walk into a thrift store and purchase an outfit you don’t truly need is a privilege. There isn’t a perfect solution to this problem, but next time, before buying something from a thrift store, ask yourself if you truly need it and avoid bulk buying in smaller shops or those that are located in lower-income communities. Pause before you judge others for consuming fast fashion and recognize that this may come from necessity.

And while buying second-hand clothes is better for the planet, there is nothing more sustainable than not buying anything at all.

*If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, I recommend watching Jordan Theresa’s video “ The Gentrification of Depop” on Youtube.