Depop is on a mission to make fashion circular. For over a decade, our community has been helping to popularise secondhand fashion and drive forward resale culture in the UK, US, Australia and beyond. Since we were founded, we estimate that our community has given over 136 million items a second life [1]. Together, we’re creating a powerful shift in fashion consumption, and we’re proud of the impact that’s already being driven on a global scale.
Our latest purchase displacement research [2] reinforces this, showing that 3 in 5 purchases made on Depop prevent the purchase of a brand-new item elsewhere. And with 71% of users saying they’d rather wait or go without if they can’t find what they’re looking for, our community is driving a meaningful shift toward slower, more intentional consumption. We believe that everything you want already exists – and our role is to make it easy and inspiring to find it.
We know that building a sustainable future for fashion takes time, and that it requires a mindset of continuous improvement. Resale is a force for good in the fashion industry, but we recognise our responsibility doesn’t stop there. At our core, environmental impact and circularity guide our mission, but as a marketplace serving millions, we also prioritise fostering diversity, inclusion, self-expression and empowerment – both on our platform and within our company.
In 2023, we updated our Impact Goals to align with our parent company, Etsy Inc., and deepen our focus on the issues that matter most to our community These goals span five key areas: Circularity, Net Zero, Sustainable Operations, Employee Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Marketplace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Two years on, here’s how we’ve built on last year’s foundation:
Advancing circular fashion leadership
Partnered with The Waste Resource Action Programme to pioneer a new industry aligned methodology for measuring how secondhand purchases displace the purchase of new items elsewhere, and published our own displacement rate research.
Supported the launch of the Recommerce Caucus in the US - a bipartisan initiative in the House of Representatives aimed at championing policies that foster the growth of the circular economy.
Empowering sellers and the community
Rolled out AI-powered listing from one photo – a new description generation feature, using image recognition and generative AI technology to accelerate the resale listing process.
Launched the Depop Selling API built for professional sellers to sync stock, manage orders, and integrate their inventory on the platform, while helping brands advance their circularity ambitions.
Shared sustainability education with our sellers covering topics including repair, packaging, shipping, cleaning and preparing clothes for resale.
Showcased personalised environmental impact savings, showing our community their estimated water and carbon savings from buying secondhand on Depop.
Taking climate action
Set out a refreshed approach to climate action at Depop, which helps us accelerate progress towards our Net Zero goal. We spend at least 25% of our internal Emissions Budget [3] on projects that reduce these emissions, while the remaining budget is invested in carbon offset projects outside our business.
We joined the Center for Green Market Activation, as part of Etsy, Inc. Through this coalition, we’ll help fund the largest known single deployment of long-haul electric trucks in Texas by paying the “green premium” associated with purchasing electric trucks. This first-of-its-kind effort supports scaling zero-emission road freight and reducing the largest source of our carbon emissions - road shipping for Depop items!
Implemented a new waste tracking system in our offices and awareness campaigns to improve our waste diversion rate as part of our goal to achieve ‘Zero Waste’ operations (defined as diverting over 90% of waste from landfill [4]) by the end of 2025.
Building a more inclusive and responsible Depop
Completed our annual accessibility audit of the Depop app on iOS, Android and Web and since have been actively working on improvements.
Continued to celebrate cultural moments important for key underrepresented groups within our community (Black History Month, International Women’s Day, Pride, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month).
Scaled our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for members of diverse communities and their allies, adding Parents @Depop. Alongside this, we grew our existing ERGs: Underrepresented Gender Identities in Tech, Wellbeing & Mental Health, Black @ Depop and Queer @ Depop.
Achieved a score of 100 in Disability:IN’s Disability Index, making Depop a best in class employer for Disability Inclusion.
Published Depop’s Responsible AI Principles to ensure that any AI technologies we deploy are safe, transparent, fair, and aligned with our commitments to DEI, sustainability, and community empowerment.
Inspiring creativity and adoption of circularity
Expanded marketing in the US and Australia, reaching new demographics and bringing secondhand fashion further into the mainstream. From a New York citywide takeover to partnerships and pop-ups that celebrated secondhand style, our marketing campaigns align with our business mission to make fashion circular by increasing awareness of the availability of secondhand fashionCollaborated with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater™ 3 + 4, DKNY, and Westfield UK to bring circular fashion to wider audiences through cultural moments.
Celebrated circularity with Depop’s “Where Taste Recognises Taste” campaign, capturing the connection across generations through shared style, and the excitement of finding exactly what you’ve been searching for — only secondhand.
Launched Outfits, enabling users to style and plan looks with real inventory from Depop - making circular fashion feel creative, inspiring and even more seamless and bring our experience in line with retail.
Scaled our Student Brand Ambassador Program to 100+ university campuses, inspiring student communities to keep fashion circular.
1 - Items given a second life since Depop was founded refers to all ‘used’ items sold on Depop between 2012 and 2025. We assume the ratio of ‘used’ vs. ‘brand new’ items remained consistent over time, as condition tagging was introduced in Q4 2020. No data is available on items sold in 2011.
2 - Data contained in the 2025 Displacement Report is based on a survey of 3,759 Depop users across three markets (UK n=1316, USA n=1334, Australia n=1109) in November 2024. The survey was open to users who had made a purchase of clothing on Depop (including shoes and accessories) between August 2024 and November 2024.
3 - Our Emissions Budget is funded by an internal fee we charge ourselves for every tonne of greenhouse gas emissions that we produce.
4 - “Zero Waste” operations is defined by the Total Resource Use and Efficiency certification program by Green Business Certification Inc.