Save money on school uniforms and cut clothing waste
Smarter Uniforms has launched a city-wide campaign to cut school clothing waste, and reduce back-to-school costs.
The Stop. Swap. Save. campaign also aims to remove the stigma around second-hand and make rehoming school uniform and PE kits the smart choice. It stands for:
- Stop spending unnecessarily and sending wearable uniforms to landfill
- Swap instead of buying new
- Save hundreds of pounds per family, and help protect the environment
Councillor Tim Rowkins, Brighton & Hove’s Cabinet member for Net Zero and Environmental Services, said: “This is exactly the kind of practical, community-led action we need to see more of across Brighton & Hove. Supporting families, cutting waste, and showing that sustainability and affordability can go hand in hand – it’s a no-brainer.”
Reducing the cost of school uniforms
We've partnered with not-for-profit Smarter Uniforms to help reduce costs for families and the environmental impact of buying new clothes.
Families in the city are expected to spend over £5 million getting their children ready for school, with nearly £1 million of that spent by parents of new school primary and secondary starters.
That’s more than 29,000 school uniforms bought across Brighton & Hove – enough to:
- cover the entire Amex Stadium pitch
- stack seven i360s high in uniform towers
- match the height of nine full-sized wind turbines
All for clothing many children will outgrow within months.
Meanwhile, it’s estimated Brighton & Hove throws away around 840 kilos of wearable schoolwear every year, the equivalent weight of more than 100 Brighton beach deckchairs. Nationally, the total exceeds 1.4 million kilos, that’s about 35,000 deckchairs of waste.
How to take part
Through Smarter Uniforms online marketplace you can:
- swap and sell good quality second-hand school uniforms city-wide
- ask for uniform items from other parents
- donate proceeds from your sales to local schools