Anna Pangbourne, CEO of the Fashion & Textile Children’s Trust (FTCT), explains how the charity’s 2026 Back to School campaign highlights the wider challenges working parents in the fashion and textile industry face over the summer holidays, from childcare costs to balancing work and family life, and how its grants can help.

 

What are the goals of FTCT’s 2026 Back to School campaign, and how have they evolved?

The Back to School Campaign, now in its fourth year, is very much a continuation of the work we do to highlight the pressures parents and carers face around the cost of school essentials. It started as a fundraising appeal but has grown into an awareness campaign, as we recognise that there are so many parents who FTCT could support, and we want to amplify our message to reach them in this challenging moment.

What have past campaigns revealed, and what is shaping 2026?

One thing we’ve heard over and over in the last few years is that parents see the summer as a special time for children to reset and prepare for Back at School in September. Parents feel a lot of pressure to provide that chance for their children to thrive, but with the additional money worries of childcare, school essentials and other necessities, this is hugely challenging. This year, we are extending the campaign to highlight struggles families face during the summer holidays and the endless juggle many experience between work and childcare. This year’s theme brings to light the views of parents and how they feel they could be more supported, including ideas for how employers across the sector can create more support avenues for industry parents.

Can you share some of the key findings from your latest parent survey?

We surveyed parents and carers in our community to get their views on the Back to School pressures. The 32 responses showed uniform costs are the most visible, unavoidable Back to School expense, but the price of uniform does not fully explain the issue. These results point to a wider cost of living crisis and show there continues to be no slack in UK household budgets, particularly for those with dependent children. This year, we added questions to our survey about the summer holidays. The responses revealed that while the six-week summer holiday should be a joyful family time, for many working parents it can spell financial crisis and a logistical nightmare. Forty-seven per cent of sector parents in our survey find balancing work and family during summer difficult or unmanageable. Holiday childcare costs a working family the equivalent of an extra month of term-time childcare bills, stacked on top of Back to School spending. Again, these responses highlight the gaps in our childcare system, and the struggles sector parents face are mirrored across the UK throughout different industries.

What would success look like for this year’s campaign?

This year, we are hoping to beat our previous year’s fundraising total of £5,000. This is particularly important as the cost of the items we fund for families continues to rise. We would also like to see increased involvement from our wider industry, to make sure that together we are building a culture of care and understanding for parents during this season. Every child we support is one more child who doesn’t have to go without the essentials they need. We believe it is a collective responsibility for our industry to ensure we support families, together.

What role can the industry play to make a practical difference for families?

We want to continue to raise awareness of the vital contribution parents and carers bring to the industry. According to our research, approximately 39% of the UK workforce has a dependent child, which is really significant. We want every parent and carer employed by our industry to know the vital financial lifeline FTCT provides exists. Every company and every industry employer can play a part in that by either promoting our grants or hosting a fundraiser to raise awareness of our campaign.

What would you say to families considering applying for a grant?

We understand parents can feel hesitant to apply. However, we want them to understand that our grants are here for them and to take the opportunity to ask for help. We only help parents and carers working in fashion and textiles, so this is their fund, and they should access it if they need a bit of extra help. Parents first complete a quick online form to check eligibility, then submit an application with supporting documents so our grants team can assess how we can help. Our grants team are experts in understanding parents’ needs and explaining where FTCT may be able to step in, or even where other resources might be a good fit. The parents who turn to us always say they wish they’d asked for help sooner. By employers sharing our details, we can reach parents sooner – before challenges escalate – and help ensure they get the support they need.

For further information, visit FTCT’s campaign hub.