MANAGING YOUR PTA – Second-hand uniform
THE COMMUNITY SHOP Siobhan Wilson runs Smarter Uniforms, a community second-hand
uniform shop in Brighton.
THE ONLINE SALE PTA secretary Anna George started a Facebook group to sell
preloved uniform online at Archbishop Rowan Williams VA school in Portskewett (202 pupils). ‘Our second-hand uniform used to be stored in big bags, which had to be sorted each time we got them out. Sales were time-consuming and didn’t raise very much. I have strong anti-waste values and I was looking for a way to help while working full-time. I decided to use my digital communications skills to set up a “Preloved Uniform Group” linked to the PTFA Facebook page. Parents can either drop uniform
into the offi ce or give it to me on the playground. Although we do remind everyone, there’s a strong recycling culture here and people know they can donate their clean, preloved uniform. If I receive an item that’s torn or stained, I put it in a rag bag, which the local charity shop accepts for textile recycling. Lost property also comes to us once a term. I wash it and try to fi nd the original owners; otherwise, it goes into the sale. I have three storage bags of uniform for sale that I keep in my dining room. To join the Preloved Uniform
Group, parents have to answer a question. The school also helps us check that applicants have a genuine
24 SUMMER 2020
pta.co.uk
Smarter Uniforms is a social enterprise based on recycling unwanted school uniform and re-selling it at a lower cost to minimise waste and raise funds for schools. It is operated from a small unit at the back of my ethical clothing shop in Brighton. We currently sell uniform on behalf of seven partner schools and parents from any local school can donate branded or plain uniform to us. We also run a service providing free uniform to families in hardship, based on referrals from community organisations. We’re open 11am-5pm, Monday
connection to the school. People can see a photograph of an item with a description and then comment or message me directly. Once the sale has been agreed, I give the uniform to the secretaries, who put it into the correct child’s bag to be taken home. I charge a suggested donation of £1 and people pay at the offi ce. Each year, the school holds a
coffee time for parents of new starters. Last year, I went along to promote the Preloved Uniform Group and let parents know how they could join. We then arranged convenient places to meet where I could drop the uniform off. It took quite a while to set up the
group and to sort through the old stock, but now I spend an average of half an hour a week promoting posts and liaising with my customers. Last year, we only made about £50 from uniform sales. This year, we’ve made that much in one term.’
TIP
If you have families in need, remember
many people prefer to pay a token amount for a bargain than have to accept charity.
to Saturday, which is helpful for working parents who aren’t on the playground. Uniform is priced at about a third of the original cost. Parents can use our loyalty scheme where they collect stamps every time they donate, and these can be redeemed when they buy from us. Uniform donations are divided
into four groups: good-quality uniform is washed and displayed for sale in the shop; repairable uniform is fi xed by our team of volunteers (how much we do depends on how many volunteers we have); non-uniform is donated to charity; and unsaleable items are sent to a responsible textile recycling company. We have some storage space
underneath the shop, but so much is donated to us that we also rent an off-site storage unit. When a school partners with
Smarter Uniforms we place a collection box in their reception area, then we collect it when it’s full. We also hold a donation day at the end of the summer term where we request uniform from leavers and ask for donations to a local food bank. The school receives 70% of the money raised from selling branded items, leaving PTAs more time to work on other fundraising initiatives.’
ICONS: AVICONS; 13REE_DESIGN; AVECTOR; SUPANUT PIYAKANONT/
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
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