This Back to School, Let’s Do Something Smarter.

As back-to-school costs are rising and textiles waste piles-up, Smarter Uniforms is calling on our city to take action.

In September, 29,000 children in our city will be heading back to school, with Brighton & Hove families set to spend an estimated £5 million on new school uniforms and PE kits. With nearly £1 million of that spent for new primary and secondary school starters.

With the average cost to kit a full uniform now at £170 for each child, it adds up quickly – especially when you factor in lost items and surprise growth spurts. Even the basics can be costly when a branded school logo is required.

Meanwhile, every year Brighton & Hove throws away around 840 kilos of wearable polyester-rich schoolwear. Nationally, the total exceeds 1.4 million kilos.

Let’s put that into perspective:

With over 29,000 pupils heading back to school, that’s enough new schoolwear to:

• Cover the entire Amex pitch

• Stack seven i360s high

• Reach the height of nine full-sized wind turbines

And with 840 kilos of schoolwear wasted annually in our city alone? That’s the equivalent weight of more than 100 Brighton beach deckchairs. Nationally? That’s about 35,000 deckchairs of waste, every year.

The school uniform system is broken

It’s outdated. Expensive. And harmful to our beautiful planet.

But together we can fix it.

Brighton & Hove, let’s lead the change.

This summer, we’re inviting our city rethink Back to School.

It’s Time to Stop. Swap. Save.

Join the local movement helping local families get term ready. While saving money, reducing waste and making school uniforms smarter for everyone.

Let’s show what’s possible when a city says:

No more waste. No more unnecessary cost.

Start swapping today.

Get started