3 Mins Read
Depop, the resale platform popular for vintage clothing and unique fashion items, is now climate neutral. The company is now certified by South Pole, a World Economic Forum-backed decarbonisation social enterprise, and says it will continue to expand its sustainability efforts amid growing pressure on businesses to take climate action.
Depop is now a certified climate neutral company, after having successfully offset all material sources of its GHG emissions, from scope 1 to 3. This covers its offices and utilities, cloud services, and the travel and work-from-home activities of its entire workforce. The certification has been issued by Swiss social enterprise South Pole.
Getting to climate neutral
The London-headquartered resale fashion platform partnered with South Pole to quantify and compensate its emissions through two projects, the Kariba Forest Protection project in Zimbabwe to prevent deforestation, and the Dora-II Geothermal program in Turkey, which reduces the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Depop’s climate neutral certification does not cover non-material scope 3 emissions across its supply chain, which would consider the footprint of its packaging and associated energy use of end users.
Read: Your quick and easy guide to climate terms and buzzwords
Depop vows to do more
Having achieved climate neutral status, Depop says it now wants to get to net-zero. This means extending the boundaries of the scope 3 emissions to factor in its entire footprint across its supply chain.
To do so, the company says it has joined the TechZero Taskforce, a UK government-backed consortium of companies aiming to get to net-zero, among them British vegan meal leader Allplants, fintech startup Revolut, public transit app Citymapper, and food waste platform Olio.
“We believe in setting ambitious goals and focusing our efforts on delivering results and iterating fast—so now that we’ve achieved this milestone, we will shift our focus towards net zero,” said Depop’s global head of sustainability Justine Porterie. “We look forward to working with TechZero on the next leg of our climate journey.”
Related: 5 signs fashion greenwashing is going to have to stop
Green pressure on businesses
Depop’s doubling down on its green credentials come as businesses face greater pressure over their climate responsibilities. Even those already seen as sustainable and popular with young Gen Zs, such as resale fashion platforms like Depop and ThredUp, are having to continually prove their commitments to stay in good graces with conscious consumers.
One recent report, which focused on the emergence of the “new e-commerce shopper”, found that consumers are now becoming increasingly aware of the footprint of their purchases—including ones they make online. And while they don’t plan on ditching digital shopping anytime soon, 66% said they would want platforms to offer carbon-neutral shipping.
Another poll found that 86% of shoppers now expect businesses to “play their part” when it comes to solving global issues like climate change and social justice.
All images courtesy of Depop.
Author
