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Worn Up is transforming the school uniform sector

Last updated: Jun 6, 2022

Summary

Worn Up collects textile waste from schools and transform it into new products that can be used again by students. The company has just built its first school desk using a flat pack panel building product made from old school uniforms in collaboration with the University of NSW’s SMaRT centre and NSW Circular.

Worn Up is the sister company of Sustainable Schoolwear, a business that has been supplying schools with eco-friendly uniforms for over five years. These two businesses work in tandem. Sustainable Schoolwear helps schools and students reduce their environmental impact by giving them access to uniforms that are made ethically, locally (wherever possible) and from high quality sustainable materials. When these products reach the end of their life, Worn Up steps in to reform them into new products.

Problem

Every school in Australia throws out an estimated 100-200kg of non-wearable uniforms each year.

Solution

Worn Up was established with the simple goal of keeping uniforms out of landfill. The company aims to take 100 tonnes of uniforms — corporate, school, workwear — out of landfill in the next 12 months.

Worn Up is currently trailing a textile collection system with 30 schools. The schools have been provided with pods that can hold up to 25kg of textile waste. Once these pods are full, Worn Up will take back their contents and reform them into new products.

Outcome

Through a collaboration with NSW Circular and the UNSW SMaRT Centre, the textile waste collected by Worn Up is already being used to build new products like school desks. These desks can then be returned to schools where they will have a second life and help teachers educate students about the process of reforming textiles into new products