Mum inundated after launching free school uniform swap shop

A MUM who struggled to provide new school uniforms for her three children every year has set up a free swap shop for second hand clothes.

Laura Mulley, from New Milton, says she got fed up with “just throwing away” the uniform her children had grown out of saying: “I thought this is so wasteful, there must be a better way.”

She took action by posting a message on Facebook asking people if they could set up some sort of group where parents could swap the clothes their kids had grown out of for bigger sizes.

“I was inundated with messages,” said Laura.

“It seems providing uniform is a big problem especially for low income families. Around 64% of all families in the UK are in receipt of some kind of benefit, and school uniform can be a huge dent in an already low budget.

“A uniform can range from £150 to over £400 depending which school you go to and a lot of councils no longer give grants to help buy them.

“A lot of schools are also insisting on having practically everything logoed so you can no longer buy the cheap jumpers and things from supermarkets.

“My post certainly hit the mark because I had so many clothes flood in that I decided a

pop-up shop to offer second hand school clothes would be the answer.”

Some of the second hand uniforms have been donated by schools from unclaimed lost property.

Apart from skirts, dresses, shirts, blazers, jumpers, shorts and trousers there will also be school and PE bags, shoes and water bottles.

Laura is holding two pop-up shops in the New Milton and Christchurch areas in August at which local uniform will be available from infants to senior school. She is also holding another two in Boscombe and Bournemouth.

She said: “Everything will be free. There is no charge at all. Parents are invited along to pick out whatever they need.

“It would be nice if they brought something that their child might have grown out of to swap but that isn’t necessary.”

The first swap shop is being held at New Life Church, 34 Gore Rd, New Milton, on Friday 2nd August from 11am-1pm.

The second is at Somerford ARC, 20 Southey Road, Christchurch, on the 15th August from 11am-1pm.

Laura is eventually hoping to grow the swap shops to cover the whole of Hampshire and Dorset and then the UK.

She said: “Judging by the response I have had there is a real need for something like this. For many parents funding school uniforms is a struggle.”