Two friends in Devon have launched a free school uniform swap scheme to spare local families the expense of buying new clothing for the coming term. Bex and Faye set up the Tavistock Uniform Swap Shop, inviting parents to donate outgrown items and take what they need in return, with no obligation to give anything back. The pair ran their first stall at Tavistock Library on Thursday, gathering three large boxes of uniform from local schools' lost property along with roughly half a dozen bags of donations from the community.
Bex, who has known Faye for a decade, said the idea grew from recognising that many households were struggling with the same financial pressures regardless of their circumstances.
We are all in the same situation, it doesn't matter if you're working full-time, things are really expensive and if we can save on something like this, then let's do it.
The donated items included both branded and unbranded jumpers, shirts, skirts, dresses, waterproof clothing, shoes, lunchboxes and trousers. According to the organisers, visitors were surprised to learn everything on offer was free and that no donation was required to take part.
What is changing about branded uniform costs?
From 1 September 2026, a new legal limit on compulsory branded uniform items comes into force in England, restricting primary schools to three such items and secondary or middle schools to four, one of which may be a tie, according to legislation.gov.uk. The cap was introduced after government estimates suggested a quarter of secondary schools still required four or more branded items on their uniform lists last year. Government guidance further clarifies that the restriction also applies to compulsory PE kits and branded bags, and defines a branded item as anything identifiable by a school's logo or name, or by a distinctive colour, design or fabric that limits parents to a single supplier, as set out by official government guidance.
Bex said she was relieved that a ceiling on branded items now existed, even though the practical impact would still depend on individual schools' choices.
I think in the long run, if the cost of living keeps going up, we are going to need to push for there to be less and less uniforms with logos, but it will definitely help.
The government has said the wider reforms, which also include changes to free school meal eligibility, are designed to ease financial pressure on families and could save households up to £1,000, according to an official government announcement.
How much does uniform currently cost families?
Faye, a mother of two who works as a retail supervisor, said the total cost varied depending on each school's specific rules on branded clothing, but that some families could expect to spend around £60 per child on uniform. She explained that expenses often mounted further over the course of the year as children lost items or ruined them.
Children lose their uniforms or it gets dirty, so you're often having to re-buy stuff throughout the year.
But at least this way it helps with the cost for families not worrying so much about how they're going to get their school uniforms for their children.
Why do the organisers see this as a sustainability measure too?
Bex said the swap scheme was as much about preventing waste as saving money, noting that many of her own daughter's outgrown dresses and labelled items were still in good condition despite no longer fitting. She argued that recycling centres, while useful, do not return donated clothing directly to families who could use it.
It's great places like the recycling centres take clothing, but that doesn't go back to families again.
I think it's really important, particularly the grey trousers, the dresses and the whites to be reused because they're all universal and any school can use them.
Similar community responses to uniform costs have emerged elsewhere in the country this summer. In Peterborough, more than 600 people queued at a swap shop event, with organisers there also considering turning it into a recurring fixture, as reported in coverage of parents saving on school uniforms at a city swap shop. The city council also ran a separate free pop-up shop on 31 July offering both uniforms and prom dresses, detailed in a report on the free pop-up shop for uniforms and prom dresses in Peterborough. Meanwhile in Kent, a Community Cupboard scheme has been supplying pre-loved uniforms to working families throughout the summer, according to a report on the uniform bank helping working families in Kent. Separately, some schools have taken a different approach to easing back-to-term stress, with Sirius Academy West in Hull running pre-term uniform approval sessions using green stickers to mark accepted items, as covered in a piece on uniform checks ahead of the new school year.
What happens next?
Schools across England are required to have the new branded-item limits in place by the start of the September 2026 term, meaning this year's back-to-school shopping will be the first to fall under the restriction, according to legislation.gov.uk. In Tavistock, Bex and Faye said their first event had proved a clear success, with more than half of the donated uniform taken by visitors and numerous messages asking when the next swap would take place. They are now planning a follow-up event towards the end of the summer holidays and say they would consider making it an annual fixture if feedback remains positive.
Key Facts
- Bex and Faye founded the Tavistock Uniform Swap Shop, holding their first stall at Tavistock Library on Thursday.
- Organisers collected three large boxes of lost-property uniform from local schools plus about six bags of community donations.
- From 1 September 2026, English primary schools must limit compulsory branded items to three, and secondary schools to four including a tie.
- Government estimates suggest the uniform and wider childcare reforms could save families up to £1,000.
- More than half the Tavistock swap's uniform stock was taken on the first day, prompting plans for another event later in the summer.
