How Depop Users Are Gentrifying Charity Shops

There’s no better feeling than rifling through your local charity shop for an hour or two and scoring an authentic, vintage Elle knit for £3 in the bargain bucket- which you then proceed to brag about for the foreseeable. Charity shops offer a largely positive impact; they raise money for good-causes, offer a sustainable alternative to fast-fashion and are a centre for those in need. However, in recent years charity shop prices have soared and long-gone are the £1 rails that low-income individuals rely on as a sanctuary to clothe themselves which has forced them to source cheaper alternatives from fast-fashion stores. So, how exactly does selling on Depop gentrify charity shops and the people that buy from them? In response to the popular demand of second-hand clothing, and to price-match Depop sellers, charity shops have hiked up their prices considerably over the past few years. Ultimately, this means that the individuals that rely on them to provide good quality clothing for a fraction of the price are now unable to turn to charity shops as their main source of clothing – Instead, lowincome individuals now consume from fast-fashion brands such as Primark, which means in the long run they will have to spend more money as the quality of items are poor and typically don’t last long.

Trend-aware and business minded Gen-Z’s have spotted a money-making opportunity on the social shopping platform ‘Depop, since its launch in 2013 the app now boasts over two-million users according to Statistica.com, and the app is now charity shops largest competitor. Most top sellers on Depop source their items from local charity shops, and market them as sustainably sourced and vintage, the items can sell for a mark-up price, in some cases items are sold for ten times more the charity shop asking price. As sustainable fashion and vintage trends are so popular, consumers with a healthy disposable income are more than happy for Depop sellers to source the unique items and to pay that ‘little’ bit extra.

‘The gentrification of clothing, as I see it, is an appropriation of workingclass culture, in which uppermiddle-class students see something funky in dressing traditionally working-class - Katie Moseley, The What She Said Magazine

SPRING/ summer 21 17 Photo by Mike Von

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