Leading schoolwear supplier Trutex, alongside Outwood Grange Academies Trust, is launching a new campaign to promote the donation of used school uniform for recycling and re-selling to parents.

As part of the campaign, each of the 30 Outwood academies across the North of England will house a recycle bin enabling students and their families to donate items of school uniform that they no longer wear or need.

Trutex will then collect these items to be repaired, if necessary, washed, and made ready for purchase as pre-loved uniform items.

The figures behind the campaign.

Extending the life of clothing by just nine months can reduce carbon and water usage by up to 10%. It also helps reduce the staggering number of garments that go to landfill in the UK; a figure that currently stands at over 350,000 tonnes of clothing each year.

Commenting is Matthew Easter, CEO at Trutex. “We are excited to launch this uniform recycling initiative with Outwood to help reduce the significant amount of clothing that ends up in landfill each year, alongside being able to help provide a cost-effective uniform for parents.

“Our ethos of “Made to Last” uniform means many garments are often grown out before worn out. By enabling the uniform to last further than the first purchaser, we can significantly help reduce costs and create a more sustainable provision of school uniform. As a carbon neutral business, reducing carbon and water in production is also a key part of our sustainability strategy.”

The campaign builds on an already successful partnership between Trutex and Outwood.

Last academic year saw over 600,000 plastic bottles saved from landfill. This was thanks to Outwood uniforms using fabric that has been manufactured from recycled plastic bottles. Each Trutex blazer, for instance, saves around 36 plastic bottles from ending up in landfill. Boys’ trousers, meanwhile, save 19 bottles.

Katy Bradford, chief operating officer at Outwood, adds; “At Outwood, we take our responsibilities seriously. 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.”

Trutex is a global supplier of high-quality school uniforms, supplying over 14 million garments per year in over 30 countries. For further information, please click here. You can also read Trutex’s latest Corporate Social Responsibility report here.