Ethical & Environmental School Uniforms at Tesco

Tesco, have introduced their new lines of school uniforms, with a green theme throughout,with recycled, Fairtrade and organic cotton ranges.

Tesco's recycled uniform range. Stylish and easy to care for, the range also helps to reduce landfill as it's made from old plastic bottles, which are melted down to make raw polyester and turned into fibres and yarns for fabrics that are used to make the clothes. Through our recycled uniform range we have diverted over 40,000 x 1 litre bottles from landfill (about 1.5 tonnes of waste diverted). It takes 6 x 1litre bottles to make a skirt and 17 bottles to make a boy's fleece.

The process of making this recycled fabric uses 84% less energy than making new material and as a result the CO2 emissions are around 77% lower. Surely all polyester should be made this way.

Girls' Recycled pinafore
from £5 - sizes: 3/4-10/11 years
2 pack girls' Recycled short-sleeve shirt
from £4.50 - sizes: 4/5- 15/16 years
Boys' Recycled hooded fleece
from £4.50 - sizes: 3/4-15/16 years
2 pack boys' Recycled short-sleeve shirt
from £4.50 - sizes: 4/5-15/16 years
Boys' Recycled trousers
from £4.50 - sizes: 3/4-15/16 years

Tesco's Fairtrade uniforms supports small scale cotton farmers, ensuring that they get a fair price from sales of seed cotton, which helps them to develop their communities.

Tesco use Fairtrade cotton sourced from cotton producers certified by Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) and processed through FLOcert. The Fairtrade scheme offers traceability of seed cotton supply back to farmer level, to ensure the cotton used is truly Fairtrade and is benefiting farmers directly.

With organic cotton, producers aim to cut chemicals, improve soil fertility and help conservation and animal welfare in both its growth and manufacture. The organic cotton used in our uniforms is sourced mainly from farming co-operatives in India. Find out why organic cotton is better for the environment?

Now an initative which is very ethical. In Kenya, many children don't go to school simply because they can't afford a uniform. But you can help change that. Buy trousers for Save the Children from Tesco and, for each pair sold, Tesco will give a Kenyan child either a school skirt, shirt or pair of trousers. By producing the trousers in Kenya, we are also benefiting local trade.

By working together, you, Tesco and Save the Children are providing Kenyan children with the chance of a brighter future.

Now your only decision to make is which one is greener, more ethical, or lower in carbon footprint?

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