As it is July, the school year is coming to an end. Students will be moving up to a new class or a new school. As students grow up and graduate, their school uniforms will soon become unfit for wear, especially for kindergarten and primary school students. According to the statistics, students in the developmental age need to change their school uniforms every two years on average. As a result, 4 million school uniforms will be disposed of each year (Note 1), which is an alarming figure!
To avoid wastage, we all know how to put our clothes into the used clothes recycling banks. However, used clothes recycling banks do not accept donations of school uniforms because the clothes collected in the recycling banks will be transferred to the needy for reuse in daily life. So, what should be done about these unfit uniforms?
- Donate to junior students at school
If your school uniforms are in good condition, the most direct way is to donate to the junior students. You can ask your school about the donation method, or post information on online platforms (e.g. school communication groups, online second-hand trading platforms, etc.) to donate your school uniforms so as to reuse them. This not only reduces waste, but also helps those who are in need at schools, thus achieving the meaning of inheritance.
- Upcycling
If your school uniforms are worn out, they are not suitable for donation. You can make use of your creativity to upcycle your old uniforms by making them into souvenirs, such as a pencil bag or a mini slant bag, etc. This is a meaningful way to preserve your memories of your time at school.
Donation of school uniforms is not applicable to the general used clothes recycling services, but there are many school uniforms that supposed to be disposed each year. This always is an ongoing concern of us. Therefore, we are going to launch an on-site school uniform recycling service from the year of 2023-24 to collect and donate second-hand uniforms in schools. Details of the programme will be announced in late July. If schools are interested in joining this programme, please pay attention to our website and feel free to contact us. We are looking forward to working together to extend the life of school uniforms and reduce wastage!
References:
Note 1: Metro Pop (29 July 2022). Creating Little Things to Empower School Uniforms. Metro Pop. Retrieved from: https://metropop.com.hk/製作生活小物-賦予校服新生/
