<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/06/what-is-in-childrens-school-uniforms>
"Hugo Keane’s investigation into polyester began at home. He had just started
year 7 but, thanks to Covid, he was stuck knocking about at home in Camden,
north London.
“It was kind of a family pandemic project,” said his mother, Alexandra Milenov.
“He sat down with my husband and did the calculations on the microplastic
release of three items of his uniform: the blazer, the PE T-shirt and the
shorts.”
What he found out was to significantly affect his school career.
Almost every child in England spends about 195 days a year in uniform. They are
not a legal requirement, but the Department for Education insists they promote
“the ethos of a school”, provide “a sense of belonging and identity” and set
“an appropriate tone for education”.
But the widespread use of uniforms has a hidden cost: most of them are made
from polyester, the synthetic, petroleum-derived fibre that is one of the
world’s most significant environmental pollutants, leading some to question our
reliance on it, and whether it is a suitable fabric in which to dress our
children."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
