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A uniform recycling organisation that cleans and resells clothing and is used by schools in the Wakefield district said donations have gone up by 25 per cent.

Trutex, which works alongside Outwood Grange Academies Trust, to sell affordable uniforms said that resale of donated uniforms had increased by 40 per cent across the country.

Its RE:FORM scheme allows parents to donate used uniforms at collection points for the unwanted items to be picked up by a commercial firm, inspected, repaired, laundered, packaged and sold back to fresh customers as nearly new at a discount of as much as 50 per cent.

Chief executive Matthew Easter said: “I am delighted that we have been able to help so many families through RE:FORM.

The Outwood Academy group works with Trutex on its uniform recycling scheme.

"We want to go as far as possible in helping to provide for children across the country.

“Providing quality lasting clothing has always been at the heart of our company’s ethos. #

"Improving the options available for parents in a way that also improves sustainability means we are unquestionably succeeding in our efforts.”

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The firm said donations and sales of second hand items have soared as parents look to fight back against rising inflation and living costs.

The uniform manufacturer has also pledged to provide additional free uniforms for next summer that can be allocated to parents most in need.

It said any school that signs up to the RE:FORM scheme before the end of October will be able to further help parents with the costs of uniforms.

The programme was recently awarded Best Circularity Reuse in the 2022 National Recycling Awards.

Fewer used blazers, skirts and trousers wind up in landfill and so safeguard the environment.

The firm said extending the life of clothing by just nine months reduces carbon and water usage by as much as 10 per cent.

It said its recycling work was able to save 16 million plastic bottles from landfill through recycled content in its fabrics.

Last September the Express reported Wakefield’s network of school uniform banks faced “unprecedented demand”.

The survey by The Schoolwear Association found that a school uniform costs an average of £101.19 per child in secondary school.

Rising utility and food bills and stagnant wages meant more families turned to uniform banks to provide kit for their children ahead.

Donations to uniform recycling firm used by Wakefield schools increase by a quarter