We are proud members of the Schoolwear Association, which promotes best practice across the UK schoolwear industry and is committed to ensuring a long-term, robust and competitive market for school uniform supply, so that parents, pupils and schools all receive a fair deal. As members, we believe that well-supplied school uniforms help promote social inclusivity, build a strong sense of school identity and improve outcomes for both pupils and schools.
Our Values
Inclusivity: Access to a suitable school uniform should be available to all, irrespective of gender identity, race, religion or belief, disability, body shape or income. We work with the schools we serve to ensure our uniforms are accessible to every pupil and have measures in place to support those who might otherwise be excluded.
Responsibility: We take great care to ensure the sustainability of our products, considering both environmental and labour impacts. In a world of dwindling resources and cheap labour, we along with the wider schoolwear industry – are committed to minimising our impact. School uniform designs generally remain consistent year on year, and we focus on offering durable, long-lasting garments that can be worn many times. This reduces environmental impact while providing long-term value for parents and carers.
We actively promote clothing designed for longevity and support schemes that encourage reuse and recycling of old garments. We believe our industry should lead the way in sustainability and uphold rigorous standards to ensure everyone in our supply chain is treated and paid fairly.
Transparency and Value for Money: We ensure our uniforms offer excellent value for money and that our pricing is transparent for both parents and schools. We welcome the guidance produced by government departments in England, Scotland and Wales, which provides clarity for the industry and school governors. We support this guidance and remain proactive in future developments.
Properly developed & appropriately implemented school uniform can:
- Provide a sense of identity, community and cohesion within the school.
- Support positive behaviour and school discipline.
- Ensure that pupils dress appropriately for learning activities.
- Reduce peer pressure to follow particular fashions.
- Enable pupils of all backgrounds to share a common identity that accommodates their specific needs.
- Help reduce inequalities between pupils and remove some triggers for bullying.
- Benefit safeguarding and attendance policies by helping to identify truants.
- Assist with the identification of strangers on school premises.
- Support and promote the ethos of the school.
We are committed to ensuring that school uniforms provide fair value for all pupils at the least cost to the world’s resources.
Code of Practice for Members of the Schoolwear Association
We ensure our business upholds the aims and values of the Schoolwear Association, particularly our commitments to Inclusivity, Responsibility and Transparency.
- We work with our schools to ensure that families on low incomes are not disadvantaged or excluded due to the cost of uniform.
- Examples of social value initiatives include offering a second-hand uniform service, establishing swap shops, and providing vouchers for families most in need.
- We ensure parents can access uniform all year round and commit to maintaining appropriate stock levels for 12 months of the year.
- We commit to providing uniforms for all pupils, irrespective of sex or gender identity, race, religion or belief, disability or body shape.
- We operate to high standards of ethical compliance and work to ensure everyone in our supply chain is treated fairly.
- We only source products from suppliers who respect national labour laws or the standards set by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), whichever provides the higher benchmark.
- We continually seek innovations to reduce the environmental impact of our products.
We ensure garments worn by pupils are safe and comply with relevant regulations, including:
- Mechanical Safety of Children’s Wear
- Safety of Children’s Clothing – Cords and Drawstrings
- General Product Safety Regulations
- Flammability Standards
- We encourage all our schools to follow the guidance provided by the DfE or other UK devolved governments on the schoolwear market.
- This guidance supports competitive tendering and discourages the payment of commission for exclusive contracts.