Citywide reuse of school uniforms is being explored by the council to help reduce waste and help families struggling amid a cost of living crisis.
At a recent full council meeting, Cllr Blair Anderson, Greens, asked the city’s education convener, Cllr Christina Cannon, SNP, for an update on work to promote school uniform reuse in Glasgow.
“Cutting down on clothing emissions is good for the climate but also reusing uniforms is good for families’ budgets,” he said.
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He highlighted work by Glasgow City Parents Group with social enterprise ApparelXchange on a uniform reuse project, and asked the education convener to “agree in principle to introducing a citywide strategy to make sure every child in every school has the ability to benefit from a school uniform”.
Cllr Cannon said she was happy to reiterate a commitment within the council’s strategic plan to explore “citywide uniform reuse”.
Climate conference COP26 had “provided a vehicle for our schools to engage in further discussion around this issue”, she added, with reuse projects “part of ongoing dialogue and learning for all”.
“It’s very much at the heart of our school uniform policy as well,” the education convener said, adding she was meeting with ApparelXchange and Glasgow City Parents Group.
ApparelXchange, a sustainable fashion social enterprise, which has a shop on Nithsdale Street, is providing free school uniform packages to families, who can apply at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3RjJvaVLEfeem23gWQTgoFEnhUajZF9HPKgXsFEINIfgPig/viewform
It also takes donations of unwanted school uniforms.
Cllr Cannon told the full council meeting that the education department has “engaged for many years across schools and early years centres in work on the cost of the school day”.
“Schools across the city run a range of offers in relation to pre-loved uniforms,” she said. “These can range from discrete pick up by families through, for example, parent council run drop-ins or with family liaison workers in schools, to more formal organisation of pre-loved uniform support by a range of partners and third sector organisations.”
She added schools are “best placed” as they “know their context and families best” and education services “promote the work of pre-loved uniform partners”, including within bulletins to schools and on social media.
