Come on Mumsnet: you must be able to help with this one. Keep coming up against a brick wall. Logo'd clothes recycling

[greenfieldsaroundhere]

My DC primary school (1FE) is changing its uniform. Trousers and skirts will stay generic grey but they are moving from logo'd sweatshirts and logo'd polos to generic shirts and logo'd jumpers with a tie.

I have 4x DC and have been taking uniform off people if they move schools/ away and buying from second hand store for years
I personally have 2 ikea bags full of stuff with logos on.
But locally, there will be 200 kids' worth of logo'd sweatshirts hanging around.
But charity shops don't want logos -
I have contacted the Salvation Army mass recylcing project - they don't want logos either.
I can't bear that this is all just going to go in a bin.

Any ideas please help.

A lot of the schools/Scouts etc around me do Phil the bag fundraisers and they take things with logos on.

www.philthebag.co.uk

When out primary school changed uniform, there was a 2 year transition period whereby you could 'wear out' old uniform but if buying new then you had to buy the new style.

Ask your HT if this is possible.

Fate has it, the school should have a transition period in which you can wear out what you already own. Two years at least.

Apparently H&M take clothes for recycling, whatever condition they're in. They give you a money off voucher too.

And I agree there should be a long changeover period, particularly with siblings. DS' school uniform changed, recently but there's an amnesty for all in Y5 and Y6, so effectively two year changeover. Thankfully he was my youngest!

Our local recycling yard has a shipping container for clean fabrics. That'd be fine.

Presumably the whole point of this is to save parents from having to buy from more expensive designated suppliers rather than just picking stuff up in the supermarket or whatever.

So not having an amnesty and forcing everyone to buy new immediately would be completely against the spirit of the change. I'd bring this up with the school if I were you - the existing pieces of uniform really ought to be worn out.

Sorry, misread. Logoed jumpers plus ties. Joy.

Either way, just expecting all the old style uniform to be binned really isn't on from either a financial or an environmental perspective. And the school should be considering both of those.

Good to kmow about philthebag. I had been googling schools in Africa with a similar name (it's a Saint ) to see if we could ship it all out!!
The transition period is from Jan to September 2020 so deffo not an amnesty

My local hospice shops will take clean clothes and fabrics for textile recycling, they get paid by weight. I'm surprised none of your charity shops operate this type of scheme, but it sounds like Phil the bag might be your best bet.

Check your council tips. Some of them can take textiles. Condition, logos, etc not a problem since they'll be recycled or perhaps burnt for power.

Take it to H & M. They take anything in any condition and give you a voucher for £5 off your next £25 or over spend.

This is their link which tells you what they do

www2.hm.com/en_gb/ladies/shop-by-feature/16r-garment-collecting.html

I've taken old promo t-shirts, DH's old t-shirts which have holes in, my old bras, knickers that have seen better days. They've taken the lot.

Phil the bag doesn't accept logoed uniform.
If you're hoping to get much money from it, don't hold your breath. I remember our school doing one. The hall was half full of bags and the school got £28. They'd have made more by choosing a few nice things from the bags and auctioning them off.

I'll also note for anyone interested that they are not a charity, although they often present it as though they are.