easyJet donate retired crew uniforms to support local families struggling with the rising cost of school clothes

As part of a crew uniform update, the airline aims to recycle or donate 100% of retired garments from its old uniform, passing on many of items still fit for reuse to support a range of charities in the places closest to its operations.

This comes at a time when 58% of British households are struggling with the financial pressures of school uniforms, according to new research from the airline –with over a third of Brits (34%) having to sacrifice household essentials to make ends meet and nearly one in five (19%) using overdraft and credit cards to afford new school uniforms.

To show their support, easyJet will kickstart its donation drive in the home of the brand’s headquarters, Luton, partnering initially with local charity, Level Trust, to support the estimated 45% of children living in poverty in the area. 1

The Luton-based charity, which works across 75 Luton schools, provides pre-loved school clothes to local families via its Uniform Exchange programme. It will take a portion of easyJet’s uniforms to provide stock for older year students living in the area who are in need of new items, including shirts, skirts, blazer jackets and trousers. It also comes after research found 80% of Brits said they would like to see more businesses repurposing retired materials such as uniforms into items to support local communities.

Parents say they spend an average of £255 a year on school uniform items for just one child, totalling £3,072 in a lifetime. Within this, 53% of parents found they need to buy new/replacement uniform items even before the end of the first term, further increasing the financial pressures around this time.

As a result, easyJet will be making an initial donation to the charity for the October half term period to support the spike in demand the Level Trust sees at its Uniform Exchange over this period.

Following the completion of its uniform update in November, easyJet plans to roll out the initiative to other charities supporting a range of initiatives in Luton and London Gatwick later this year, with plans to extend across further UK bases and into Europe in 2026.

Michael Brown, Director of Cabin Services for easyJet, says, “We’re proud to launch our uniform recycling programme – our aim for this first phase is both to support parents who are facing financial hardships as well as reduce our textile waste. Our crew uniforms have always represented care, professionalism and unity, and we’re honoured that they’ll carry those same values into classrooms to empower the next generation.”

Jennie White from the charity the Level Trust, says “We have seen a significant rise in requests for school uniforms, highlighting the challenges many families are facing. easyJet’s donation of surplus uniforms is a crucial step in addressing these needs as this initiative not only helps alleviate the financial strain on parents but also ensures that children have the necessary attire to feel confident and focused at school.”

Two-thirds of parents (66%) say they would consider second-hand or upcycled uniforms in order to save money and a further 93% of parents would also favour increased flexibility when it comes to school uniforms.

The research also found that 76% of British parents would like to see more government backed community initiatives like the Level Trust’s uniform exchange rolled out on a national scale.

The Level Trust aims to ensure that school, college and nursery-age children have everything they need to fully participate in their education. According to the charity’s latest report, 68% of families using their Uniform Exchange reported going without essentials and 55% were behind on their household bills.1

Uniforms donated by easyJet crew will be de-tagged, cleaned and sorted by local teams before being adapted to meet school uniform standards – with the aim of providing tens of thousands of items of clothing to be made available to parents via the Level Trust’s Uniform Exchange.

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