Academy trust hopes to cut uniform costs by launching recycling scheme
Outwood Grange Academies Trust have teamed up with their uniform supplier to become more sustainable and cost efficient
A school trust with academies across the North East is launching a new campaign to cut the cost of uniforms and make them more sustainable.
Outwood Grange Academies Trust, which runs over 30 schools across the North of England, is hoping the campaign can make uniforms more affordable by making high-quality recycled uniforms available.
As part of the campaign, each Outwood academy will house a recycle bin that will enable students and their families to donate items of school uniform that they no longer wear or need. These items will then be collected by manufacturing firm Trutex to be repaired, if necessary, washed and made ready for purchase as pre-loved uniform items.
Katy Bradford, Chief Operating Officer at Outwood, said: “We're prolonging the life of uniform which has already been produced and that's vital in that sustainability push but of course the added bonus is having uniforms at a lower cost for parents.
"Any uniform which is donated which isn't suitable could be recycled into something else to make sure nothing is wasted.
"We hope it will encourage students to think of other clothing and not just uniforms which they can donate to charity shops rather than putting them in them. We really want them to think about that sustainability and prolonging the life of that piece of clothing.
"At Outwood, we take our responsibilities seriously and we are passionate about the environment and promoting the importance of sustainability across the Outwood Family.
“We believe this campaign, and its focus on recycling, can help not only deliver cost effective benefits for parents but also help spread the important message of sustainability and aid in improving our environment by reducing the amount of clothes in landfill.”
The figures behind the reason for the campaign are eye-catching as by extending the life of clothing by just nine months can reduce carbon and water usage by up to 10%, while helping reduce the staggering amount of garments that are sent to landfill every year, a figure that currently stands at over 350,000 tonnes of clothing every year.
The campaign between Outwood and Trutex sees the partnership between the two building on the success of the last academic year, which saw over 600,000 plastic bottles saved from landfill thanks to Outwood uniforms being made using fabric that has been manufactured from recycled drinks bottles.
Each Trutex blazer saves around 36 plastic bottles from ending up in a landfill site and boys trousers, 19 bottles.
Matthew Easter, CEO at Trutex, said: “We’re excited to launch this uniform recycling initiative with Outwood to help offer cost effective uniform for parents and also utilise the quality of our garments that are often grown out of before worn out.
“Our ethos is “Made to Last” uniform and by making the uniform last further than the first purchaser, we can significantly help reduce costs and create a more sustainably provision. As a carbon neutral business reducing carbon and water in production is important to us and also reducing the clothing that ends up in landfill.”