As easyJet prepares to roll out its new crew uniform, the airline has announced that it is partnering with a Luton-based charity, Level Trust, to upcycle its old crew uniforms into thousands of new skirts, shirts, blazers and trousers for students at 75 schools across the town.
Level Trust, which helps families struggling with the cost of school uniforms, said the donations from easyJey would be “crucial” in alleviating some of the financial strain on parents who struggle to afford them.
Indeed, easyJet surveyed some 2,000 parents and found that 58% of UK households have difficulty buying uniforms for their children, sacrificing household essentials to keep up with the cost, which, on average, came in about £256 per child. This totals over £3,072 across 12 years in education. Nearly one in five of those surveyed said that they had used overdrafts and credit cards to pay for the school uniforms.
The airline, which is based at London Luton, made an initial donation in October to support the spike in demand the charity sees for school clothes at half term – with the initiative being rolled out on a larger scale to coincide with the airline’s crew uniform update in November, coinciding with the carrier’s 30th anniversary. It then plans to add schools near to Gatwick Airport, before rolling the incentive out across the rest of the country in due course.
Michael Brown, Director of Cabin Services for easyJet, said: “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, added: “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.”
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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Cover image credit: easyJet/Michael Leckie/PinPep
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