Join our network of schools across the London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Newham and Redbridge reducing textile waste through school uniform uniform reuse with The School Uniform Bank Project.

Sign up here

With funding support from East London Waste Authority, we’ll support you get set up and running The School Uniform Donation Bin with your very own pre-loved school uniform shop. By joining our project, you’ll receive a free labelled donation bin, the perfect contact-free way of collecting gently used school uniform.

Our handy seven step guide can help you get started and our downloadable resources make the job that little bit easier, you’ll find an editable poster, record sheet and price comparison poster all free for you and your team to use. You can also join our network of schools running the project, a great opportunity for everyone to share ideas and celebrate successes. There’s just one thing we need from you…. your reuse data.

To help us understand and record the positive impact school uniform has on our environment we need to know your numbers, the number of each item you are giving away or selling from your shop (our handy record sheet can help you keep track of this). You can simply upload your data after each shop and we’ll provide you with some stats back such as 1) weight of textile diverted from waste and 2) CO2 emissions prevented and 3)potential cost savings.

Follow our seven step guide to get started

Gather a team of parents, carers and school staff to organise and run the shop. There are plenty of jobs to go round when running a pre-loved school uniform shop, from sorting the donations to working at the shop (and packing away). Make a list of tasks and assign roles if needed.

Locate storage area for stock and space to run the shop – Preparing for lots of donations is a great way to get ahead. Speak with the senior management team and site staff at your school to identify a space store your stock. Choosing an easily accessible location near to where children are picked up at the end of the day to run the shop will help get the shop seen and may encourage families to shop with you.

Source equipment – (rails, hangers, storage etc) good storage systems can help with the organisation of running the shop, while also ensuring the school uniform remains in good condition ready for reuse. Create a wish list of equipment you need and reach out to the school community to source this. Using swapping groups on Facebook or sites like Freegle may also help in sourcing much needed items.

Start collecting uniform – Using our handy, labelled donation bin makes dropping off donations simple for families and your team. Ask the school to support informing families about the donation bin, its location and list the items you are happy to accept.

Running the shop – decide a suitable date and time to run your shop and advertise across the school. Running a regular monthly shop on a set day of the week can help everyone remember when to expect one.

Record your reuse and share with our team. Keep track of the number of items being reused with our record sheet. After each shop, upload your data and we will provide you with some useful stats, including weight of textiles diverted from waste, C02 emissions prevented and costs savings.

Join the network of schools across the boroughs – find out what other schools are doing, share success stories and more with The School Uniform Bank network.

Share this info with friends, family and school contacts. Here’s a handy leaflet with all the information you need to know… The School Uniform Bank leaflet

Take a look at what’s happening around the boroughs at our real time data monitor. Here you can see The School Uniform Bank’s cost savings and environmental impact.

If you’re a school already part of The School Uniform Bank click your borough below to update your reuse data…