uniforms

EASYJET is turning thousands of old crew outfits into school uniforms to support families struggling with rising costs.

The airline partnered with Luton-based charity Level Trust, which works across 75 local schools, providing uniforms to support the estimated 45 per cent of children living in poverty in the town.

Their initiative is aiming for pilots and cabin crew to donate 100 per cent of their retired outfits – which will be recycled into shirts, skirts, blazers, jackets and trousers.

The garments will then be available for older year students through the charity’s Uniform Exchange.

It comes as 58 per cent of 2,000 parents polled said they feel the pressure of the rising costs of school uniforms.

An average of £256 a year is forked out on school uniform items for just one child, totalling over £3,072 across 12 years in education.

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With over a third of parents (34 per cent) sacrificing household essentials to keep up with the costs of school uniforms.

Nearly one in five (19 per cent) have used overdrafts and credit cards to afford school uniforms, as 53 per cent reported having to purchase new items before even the end of the first term alone.

Michael Brown, director of cabin services for easyJet, which is launching a crew uniform refresh on 10th November, said: “We’re proud to launch the 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 they’ll carry those same values into classrooms to empower the next generation.”

It emerged 76 per cent would like to see more government-backed community initiatives, like the uniform exchange, to help families.

Two-thirds of parents (66 per cent) say they would consider second-hand or upcycled uniforms in order to save money.

And a further 93 per cent of parents would also favour increased flexibility when it comes to school uniforms.

With 80 per cent of parents agreeing they would like to see more businesses repurposing retired materials such as uniforms into items to support local communities.

And 85 per cent would be likely to use cheaper or free school uniforms made from upcycled materials.

The research also found that 76 per cent of British parents would like to see more government backed community initiatives like the Level Trust’s uniform exchange rolled out on a national scale.

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.”

The Chargers are going for the gold this season.

Or are they going for the mustard bottle?

Or the banana?

Fans will be able to figure that out for themselves this fall when the team debuts its “Charger Power” uniforms, one of two alternate looks revealed by the team Tuesday that will be worn during the 2025 season.

The Chargers also announced that they now have the option to wear powder blue pants with their regular jerseys, which are powder blue at home and white on the road.

The Charger Power look features yellowish gold jerseys with matching pants, to be worn with the regular white helmet.

“If you’re going to do gold, the way we did it with all gold, it looks amazing,” Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. said in a team news release. “It’s a great alternate!”

When the Bolts don the uniforms Oct. 19 against the Indianapolis Colts at SoFi Stadium, it will be the first time Chargers players have worn gold jerseys in a game. Fans, however, have had the opportunity to wear them in the past.

“Nike had previously done a retail version of the 2020 jerseys in gold,” A.G. Spanos, the Chargers’ president of business operations, said in a statement. “It sold quite well and had really good word of mouth. In fact, in my own household, it was my kids’ favorite uniform. It definitely appeals to the younger demographic.”

The look has already garnered plenty of online reactions. One longtime fan, who appreciated the nod to the yellow “Charger Power” T-shirts worn by Bolts faithful in the late 1970s and early 1980s, wrote on X that the uniforms are “simply beautiful.”

Retired NFL offensive lineman and current Amazon football analyst Andrew Whitworth spoke from experience after wearing similarly colored alternative uniforms on occasion during his time with the Rams.

“Been there done this,” Whitworth wrote on X. “Had me out there looking like Big Bird!”

The Minions, the cartoon characters from the “Despicable Me” film franchise, seemed to like the uniforms … though perhaps not for how they’ll look on an NFL field.

“the new recruits look so cool,” the fictional creatures wrote on X in response to a team post highlighting the Charger Power look.

Cam Jordan, a defensive end for the New Orleans Saints, had a more critical take, posting on X: “Gold!???? Nah that’s … French’s! That is mustard yellow…”

One X user compared the look to that of a popular novelty baseball team.

“We look like damn Savannah Bananas,” the fan wrote. “At least the Navy’s are [fire emoji].”

The latter part of that post referred to the team’s second set of alternate duds: the Super Chargers uniforms. They feature navy blue jerseys, pants and helmets and are meant as a “modern throwback” to the San Diego Chargers’ look from 1992 to 2006 — a span that included the organization’s only Super Bowl appearance, following the 1994 season.

“When you saw that jersey, more than likely you were in Qualcomm Stadium,” retired running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who played for the Chargers from 2001 to 2009, said in the team’s news release. “And, more than likely, if you were on the other team in that era you were leaving with a loss.”

The Super Chargers uniforms will debut during the team’s “Thursday Night Football” game against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 23, the same night the Chargers will be inducting former safety Rodney Harrison into the team’s Hall of Fame. The uniforms will be worn again Nov. 30 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

A HOST of major supermarkets have slashed the price of school uniform ahead of the new academic year.

The cost of getting kids back to school isn’t cheap but you could save some cash on clothes this week.

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Asda, Aldi and Tesco have all dropped prices on their uniform bits or are launching bundle offers with prices starting from £1.50.

We’ve rounded up all the deals below.

Of course, always remember to shop around when buying any product, not least school uniform.

Compare prices via price comparison sites like Trolley, Price Spy and Price Runner to see if you’ve found the best deal on any given item.

The Google Shopping/Product tab will give you a basic indication on whether what you’ve found is well-priced as well.

That said, research by The Sun has found Aldi and Lidl are offering the lowest prices this year.

Asda

Asda has slashed prices on hundreds of school uniform bits with 20% off trousers, shirts and polos.

Prices start from £1.60 for crew neck t-shirts and range up to £16 for five-packs of slim leg boys trousers.

Parents can also buy hoodies for £4, jersey skirts for £5.60 and five-packs of long sleeve tops for £12.

Shoppers on Facebook claim the 20% off offer is running in stores as well.

We have asked Asda if it is available across all stores and what date the offer is running until both online and in-store and will update this story when we’ve heard back.

Aldi

German discounter Aldi is bringing back it’s popular £5 school uniform bundle deal on Sunday (June 29).

The bundle includes two polo shirts, a sweatshirt or cardigan, and a choice of trousers, skirt or cargo shorts – all for a fiver.

Shoppers can’t buy the bundle online as Aldi doesn’t offer a home delivery service.

As with all Aldi Specialbuys, you’ll need to act fast as once they’re gone, they’re gone.

You don’t have to buy the whole bundle and can buy individual uniform items, with prices starting from £1.50.

Sizes are available for kids aged four to 12.

Tesco

Tesco has launched a 25% off sale on its school uniform bits in store and online for Clubcard customers.

You can sign up for a Clubcard for free via the Tesco website or by downloading the app for free on to your smartphone.

The offer is running until June 29, with non-Clubcard prices starting from £3 (£2.25 for Clubcard) for a two-pack of crew neck t-shirt.

Sizes are available for kids aged between four and 16.

If you can’t afford to buy school uniform now, Tesco is re-running the 25% off offer between July 22 and July 27.

Alongside the school uniform deal, shoppers can pick up stationery with prices starting from 25p.

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