School uniform is identified as one of our major components of our carbon footprint – almost a quarter of our carbon is attributable to uniform; 111.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. This – remarkably – is the equivalent of 190 flights to New York per year. We’re sure we can reduce that and also support ethical treatment of workers!
We are keen to offer families a more sustainable alternative uniform, one that is ethically sourced.
We have found a number of potential suppliers who we feel might be able to offer us something alongside the current one, who are not yet able to commit to a more sustainable offer themselves.
One such, for example, offers the following credentials:
- Are Ethical Trading Initiative certified
- Are B Corp certified
- Are Planet Mark certified
- Use as much recycled fabric as possible
- Are certified CarbonNeutral
- Are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative
- Pay the living wages for the countries in which they operate
- Align their values with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
- Open up their factories to third-party independent inspection to ensure healthy and safe working practices, zero child labour and zero modern day slavery
- Take action to eradicate period poverty within their workforce
Typically, there seems to be a small price premium to pay for this, but we think that can be countered by not having the items branded with Parkdale embroidery. This might also make our items more sustainable in itself as they can then be taken to charity shops etc. We’d gladly do without logos for the sake of sustainability!
Before pursuing this line of enquiry further, we would like to gauge potential demand on a short (promise!) Microsoft Form. Your views would be appreciated, either way.
https://forms.office.com/e/SuknMx0yNg
