Stevensons School Uniform Outfitters is linking up with the parent-created ‘Old School Uniform’ recycling website.

Stevensons, the UK’s largest independent school uniform retailer, is supporting the cause after making an initial donation of redundant sports stock in January 2019.

Old School Uniform was founded in 2018 by parents Andrea and Andrew Grant.

The website provides a practical, countrywide hub for other parents to recycle or re-sell pre-loved school uniform and sportswear locally. Parents can search for specific school clothing items by school name at highly reduced prices or even for free

 

 

Old School Uniform also allows parents to place a notice describing what item they are looking for; even if that item isn’t currently available on the site. This lets other parents know there is a ready home for items they may be thinking of simply throwing away.

Stevensons is stepping up its direct involvement, with new initiatives rolling out for summer and autumn.

Firstly, Stevensons will include a promotional leaflet in every one of the online orders processed at its online distribution centre in Hatfield. This will alert customers to the opportunity to recycle pre-loved school uniform items at the point they are ordering new ones in the run up to Back to School.

Stevensons will also be displaying copies of the promotional leaflet at the till points of its 16 high street stores from the end of July.

 

 

The retailer is maximising communication with anyone able to influence the reduction of school uniforms going to landfill.

This July, therefore, Stevensons will email its existing school partners – over 500 schools around the country. It will inform then about Old School Uniform as an organisation. Plus, it will also provide PDF posters for use in their school and website and to communicate to parents.

Later in the year, Stevensons will be mailing a far wider range of schools about the initiative.

Many schools or their PTA’s sell second hand uniforms, sometimes from a physical shop and sometimes through termly events. Using Old School Uniform as an online shop from which to raise money would better inform parents what items and sizes are currently available. It can easily be kept up to date all year round too.

Finally, one clear priority the founders of Old School Uniform had when meeting with Stevensons, was the need to fund a wider range of marketing activities to increase the countrywide awareness of the website. As a consequence, Stevensons is providing funds for at least the next couple of years to help achieve this.

Over 300,00 tonnes of clothing in the UK goes to landfill annually, 95% of which could be recycled.

Commenting on the partnership is Mark Stevenson, joint managing director at Stevensons. “The issue of recycling is everyone’s problem. Having come across the parent-led recycling website, we felt that supporting it financially and practically through the promotion of the site could make a real difference across the whole UK.”

Also commenting is Andrea Grant, founder of Old School Uniform. “Not only does making use of unused and second-hand clothing have a fantastic impact on your pocket, it also strengthens the community and plays an essential role in sustaining our precious environment and protecting our natural resources. A win-win situation for everyone.”

To learn more about why Old School Uniform was set up, please click here. Click here to register for a free account.