Who we are

The Eco Wear Foundation exists to achieve 3 main objectives:

1: Reduce uniform wastage

The primary aim of the Eco Wear Foundation is to reduce the amount of uniform being disposed of in the UK. Independent schools tend to have lots of uniform items with school logos & branding, which prevents them from being donated to charity or re-used. The goal is to resell these items within the schools they came from, extending the useful life of the items, through individual student-run shops.

2: Raise funds for local charities through independent schools across the UK

The sale of second-chance uniform can generate large funds, which can be donated to charity to further the impact of Eco Wear. With an impact as wide as the UK, our goal is to ensure that funds generated by local Eco Wear branches are donated to local charities, so that Eco Wear has an external benefit to surrounding communities.

3: Educate & train students, parents & teachers about the impact of their school uniform on the environment

Many people are unaware of the issues associated with school uniform wastage, so as part of our impact in each school, we aim to run education sessions for students, parents & teachers to spread awareness for this important topic.

After the Coronavirus nationwide lockdown of 2020, Siyona & George (both aged 12 at the time) noticed that, after nearly a year of not being in school, there were a large number of parents at St John's College needing to buy new uniform for their children, as they had grown out of their existing items. With no official way to buy/sell second-hand items at the school, a lot of old uniforms were being disposed of, as school-specific items could not be donated to charity directly. This was where the idea for Eco Wear was born.

After some research online, the first Eco Wear was setup on Facebook marketplace, with a large stock of ex-school items being sold from lost property at reduced rates. The popularity of this store exceeded anyone's expectations, and it sold out in just a few hours of being released. It then became clear that a more robust system was needed, and could improve the efficiency in a few ways too.

A system was designed that showed live stock information on an online store, which allowed parents to see items for sale without needing to enquire, and streamlined the process of fulfilling orders. Most significantly, however, it allowed card payments to be taken, which increased the annual income from £200 to £800. 

The rest is really history. Once this had been donated to charity, Eco Wear only kept growing. Constantly improving the way of running the shop, finding new ways to take in sales such as seasonal school fayres, and raising thousands of pounds for charity. In 2025, it was realised that lots of other schools in the UK could benefit from Eco Wear, so The Eco Wear Foundation was setup. To date, the SJC branch of Eco Wear has raised nearly £3,000 for charity, with new faces at the helm. 

Currently, the Eco Wear Foundation is just getting off the ground. With contact made in several schools, branches are beginning to be developed in several locations, and we're keen to expand! If you're interested in becoming an Eco Wear branch, please feel free to reach out using our contact page.