Chance to cut down waste and save cash
East Perthshire families have been reminded that two school uniform exchange ‘pop-up’ events take place this week giving people an opportunity to pick up items of good quality schoolwear for free ahead of the new term.
Volunteers behind the initiative, which aims to help people save money and do their bit to save the planet at the same time, will be hosting the popular shops at Proactive Communities’ Blairgowrie and Rattray Independent (BaRI) Food Project in Rattray Hall on Balmoral Road this Wednesday, August 4, from 4pm to 6pm and Saturday, August 7, from 1pm to 3pm.
Mum Jocelyn McGregor set up the school uniform swap project two years ago and is now using the BaRI Food Store in Rattray Hall on Wednesday afternoons as a drop-off and collection point.
And Blairgowrie Library is also acting as a drop-off point for donations for a second year.
The project encourages parents to donate items of school uniform, warm winter coats or Christmas jumpers, lunch boxes and shoes that their family will no longer use but are still in good condition.
The clothes are then available free of charge to anyone who would like them.
The idea for the school uniform exchange originally came from the Blairgowrie, Rattray and District Climate Cafe, which Jocelyn is a member of.
The uniform exhange was part of the group’s efforts to encourage people to
re-use and recycle more, contributing to a reduction in the amount of waste that goes to landfill.
Uniforms from St Stephen’s RC, Newhill, Rattray, Coupar Angus, Kettins and Burrelton primaries, and Blairgowrie High School, are donated and distributed through the schools and events such as the pop-up ‘shops’.
Jocelyn said: “We have a table at the BaRI food store every week where we can display a sample of uniforms which lets people see the range and quality available.
“It also provides a point of contact for both dropping off donations and collecting orders.
“However, for the distribution events we are using the small hall in Rattray so that people will be able to browse the
range of items that we have to offer before buying next year’s uniform while sticking to Covid restrictions and guidelines.
“We held the first event in July and it was a huge success.
“We’ve restocked with more items that have been donated through the parent teacher associations, the Facebook page and the library.
“We’ve even had people posting us items which is great.”
She went on: “We were absolutely delighted when Blairgowrie Library agreed to support the initiative by providing another venue for people to drop-off any items they wish to donate and would like to say a big thank you to Craig and the team.”
Senior librarian Craig Dennis said: “We
first got involved two years ago when the first pop-up shop was due to take place and Councillor Tom McEwan asked if we would act as a drop-off point.
“We were very happy to do that and had no hesitation in agreeing to do so again when Jocelyn got in touch about doing it this summer as well.
“Hopefully we will be able to support the uniform exchange on a long-term basis.”
For updates on the initiative, follow the new Facebook page which can be found by searching for ‘The Uniform Exchange – wear and share’ on the social media platform.
Alternatively, requests for items of uniform can be emailed to Jocelyn at uniforms@sustainable-way.org