Today, we're chatting with Cathy Moscardini, Depop's Head of Sustainability. Listeners of this show, you of course know Depope – it's one of the most culturally influential resale platforms in the world. Founded in 2011 with a mission to make fashion circular, the community-powered marketplace has grown to 56 million registered users, with over 136 million items given a second life through its platform.

Part vintage marketplace, part social community, as well as being a launchpad for many young entrepreneurs, Depop has helped reshape what it means to shop, sell, and style yourself in the digital age.

Cathy's path here was anything but linear. A languages graduate who spent time in Chinese factories and volunteering in Nicaragua, she saw firsthand the vast distance between where fashion is made and where its consequences are felt. That experience lit a fire that took her into sustainability strategy eventually at Depop, where she's been focused on one of the most important questions in the circular economy: is resale actually reducing consumption, or just reshaping it?

During her time at Depop, Cathy has led the work of quantifying and communicating the real impact of resale — which has included developing industry-aligned methodologies in partnership with organizations like WRAP as well as other resale platforms, and proving with data that buying secondhand is not just a trend, but a meaningful lever for changing fashion's environmental footprint. She's also the person making sure that sustainability isn't siloed in one corner of Depop's business, but woven into every product decision, every marketing campaign, and every feature designed to make it easier and more exciting to choose pre-loved.

Those tapped into the universe of Pre-Loved will be aware that last month eBay has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Depop from Etsy, who purchased Depop in 2021, for approximately a $1.2 billion cash deal – we've covered this news as it unfolded. At this time, there's not much more to add, because while eBay and Etsy's Board of Directors unanimously approved the deal, it will not close until the second quarter of this year, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Instead, on today's episode, we talk about what it actually takes to shift consumer behavior at scale, why emotional connection to our clothing is in fact a sustainability strategy, and what the data really says about whether secondhand shopping is displacing new production. We also get into the culture of resale — how it's moved from the margins to the mainstream — and what Cathy believes needs to happen next to truly make fashion circular.

Let's dive right in.

Today, we're chatting with Dana Andrews — the creator and maker behind Sunworn Vintage, an upcycled clothing and accessory brand, built on the art of reuse and reimagination.

Dana grew up on the Central Coast of California in Santa Maria where she fell in love with fashion early, raiding her older sisters' closets and getting voted best dressed in high school. She learned to sew in a clothing and fashion elective she took all four years of high school, and she loved it so much she'd stay in the classroom through lunch just to keep working.

Always creative with a couple of side hustles, Dana found her way back to sewing amidst the pandemic. She bought a pre-loved sewing machine of KSL, and Sunworn Vintage was born.

Now, it's her full-time dream job. She creates one-of-a-kind pieces from vintage and thrifted textiles, offers custom orders, runs monthly website restocks, and has stepped into something she never expected: designing digital sewing patterns so others can make their own Sunworn creations at home.

Her first pattern was for a bag made entirely from neckties —and we get into the whole story on today's show. This one is truly for the makers, the thrifters, and everyone who's ever looked at a pile of men's ties at Goodwill and thought — wait, what if? And keep your eyes peeled, because Sunworn's next pattern is coming very soon – sneak peek on today's show.

Let's dive in!

DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:

• [5:57] How Dana got into thrifting as a teen.
• [9:26] Her love of estates sales — and why she'd go even if she found nothing
• [11:25] Learning to sew in high school
• [18:27] How Dana found her way back to sewing amidst the pandemic when she bought a secondhand sewing machine.
• [22:24] The early days of the upcycling business, and how it has changed in the last six years.
• [27:35] She never expected to be designing digital sewing patterns for others to create at home.
• [29:28] The thrift store inspired the idea of the Tie Bag
• [37:48] The response to the Tie Bag pattern — and how passive income changed her business
• [39:54] Working on her second digital pattern
• [45:46] Pitching Sunworn Vintage to Mildew Magazine
• [51:57] Dana's personal style and holy grail thrift finds

EPISODE MENTIONS:

• Sunworn Vintage
• @sunwornvintage
• Jess - digital sewing patterns course
• Mildew Magazine
• @mildewmag
• Alyssa Vallejos, photographer
• Ship Rock Santa Fe

LET'S CONNECT:

• 📸Instagram: @emilymstochl
• 🐦Threads: @emilymstochl
• 🎥TikTok: @emilymstochl
• 📧 Substack: https://prelovedpod.substack.com/
• 🎧Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/prelovedpod

SPECIAL THANKS:

A special thanks goes out to my Patron Insiders – your support makes Pre-Loved Podcast possible!

• Patty Weber
• Kathy Brand
• Lisa of Queenie & Pearl
• Lydia Welp
• Michael A.
• Megan Morris
• Jennifer
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• Jerrica Yasumura
• Amanda Hale