Ecooutfitters

Today I have a post that I hope will be of interest to any of my readers with Primary school aged children. With Alex starting school in September (sob) it certainly was for me, especially as Alex does suffer with eczema.

Anyway here's what Ecooutfitters have to say:

COOUTFITTERS CALL ON PARENTS TO QUESTION THE VERY FABRIC OF CHILDREN'S EDUCATION & WELLBEING

Mothers and entrepreneur duo Marina and Irina, who have launched the first independent school uniform brand, Ecooutfitters, are calling on all parents to join them in demanding better standards of health, well-being and education for primary school children in the UK, through the very fabric of their education, school uniforms.

Fuelled by the mothers' despair at watching their own children's skin conditions deteriorate as a result of wearing their school uniforms, Ecooutfitters offers a new and unique range of school clothing that rejects harmful fabrics and puts health and ethics before profits. The brand is the first to offer a choice other than the industry standard; synthetic and chemically treated fabrics known to irritate skin, aggravating eczema and various skin complaints, despite reports of a dramatic rise in the number of children in the UK suffering from such conditions, to, what the British Skin Foundation described as a 'problematic scale'.

“When you consider that our children are forced to wear these harmful fabrics for some 36.5 hours a week, running around all day, getting hot, sweaty and agitated, at a vital stage of their development, we knew something had to be done and Ecooutfitters was born.”

As the founders of Ecooutfitters embarked on their mission to source natural, chemical free fabrics for their uniform range, they discovered the little known but hugely devastating effects of the non-organic cotton industry on the communities and the environment around the world.  Production of a single cotton T-shirt requires a third of a pound of dangerously toxic pesticides, the affects of which result in 77 million cases of poisoning recorded every year, 20,000 of which result in death. These revelations put ethical production at the heart of the Ecooutfitters mission and since organic cotton doesn't use dangerous pesticides, protecting farmers’ lives and the environment, it became an obvious choice.

 “Green and sustainable living has become a big part of the UK curriculum, whilst at the same time the very fabric of that education, the iconic British school uniform, has come to embody the opposite, even harming our children, all for the sake of corporate profits.”

Ecooutfitters school uniforms are made of ethically sourced, 100% organic cotton certified by the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS), ensuring that production meets rigorous environmental and social standards. Thus an Ecooutfitter uniform cares for every individual in the chain not least the children that wear them.

"Our uniforms are not only healthier, comfortable and ethical, but competitively priced, durable and practical, disproving the widely held belief that cotton uniform cannot withstand the playground test. Organic cotton is stronger than its non-organic counterpart since the fibre is not weekend by the chemicals. It has been worn for centuries before polyester was sold to us as the "better" alternative.”

Committed to more than commercial success, Marina and Irina attend the schools that opt for Ecooutfitters uniform to provide informative and interactive presentations about the choices behind their new clothing, “building a sense of pride and understanding amongst the children."

Ecooutfitters are not alone in their mission. Currently big names such as M&S and ASOS are showing a commitment to sourcing cotton grown without pesticides and chemicals, as well as educating their customers on the importance of this. Along with Ecooutfitters these brands are part of a growing global organic cotton initiative,CottonedOn.org that highlights the devastating effects of the non-organic cotton industry, campaigning for a return to organic cotton as a new industry standard.

After a very successful first year, Ecooutfitters pleased to announce the coming of their new uniform collection in a range of new styles and colours. Available now from their online store

For more information or to nominate your school to offer the Ecooutfitters uniform, go to WWW.ECOOUTFITTERS.CO.UK