Changing the face of uniform in a rapidly changing world

Since our foundation, Schoolblazer has been at the forefront of developments in schoolwear. We recognised from the start that independent school parents valued convenience and service and were not receiving this from traditional shops. We pioneered online retailing with free name-taping on all garments to save parents time and money. We are still the only retailer to have solved the sizing problem with a unique intelligent sizing system that delivers the right fit over 95% of the time. Letting busy parents avoid the tedium and inconvenience of shop appointments or trying-on sessions.

More recently, we have delivered significant innovations in garment style and technology; moving ‘beyond the badge’ to create bespoke fabrics and styles that build the school’s brand via a complete look. Recent examples of our work at Barnard Castle (see photo above), across the GDST and at Brighton College (to name a few) show these approaches apply to all schools, irrespective of geography, parental affluence or demographic.

Schoolwear pioneers

We have been at the forefront of the move to more gender-inclusive styles, pioneering a choice of trouser and culotte options for girls and ensuring that the ‘one school’ concept works consistently across body forms and ages. We have brought innovation in fabrics, from machine-washable wool-mix blazers through to our innovative ‘performance cotton’ which ensures cotton fibres are always next to the skin for comfort, whilst retaining a core strand of polyester in the fibre to maintain durability and easy care.

Sustainability and ethical trading are at the heart of our operation to ensure we minimise our impact on the planet. We are the only schoolwear retailer to have achieved membership of the Ethical Trading Initiative and work hard to ensure that everybody supplying our business has a better life as a result. We are carbon neutral, offsetting all our emissions, including those used in the creation of our fabrics. Where we can, we spend our offset investing in low-energy schemes in producer countries, to ensure that future garments are made using more sustainable energy.

“Sustainability and ethical trading are at the heart of our operation to ensure we minimise our impact on the planet”

We’re well on our way to eliminating single use plastics from our supply chain and over 75% of the polyester we use has been recycled. All of our cotton is now sourced as ‘Better Cotton’; this means that we work with farmers to ensure that their land management and processes are as sustainable as possible.

The Limitless sportswear brand

The Limitless sportswear brand is focused on driving participation across the schools with fabrics and styles designed for young bodies to ensure that everyone, irrespective of ability, feels confident being active. Across the range, our use of recycled polyester is over 90%, meaning that our customers now have the opportunity to select a fully sustainable sportswear collection.

All of this explains why Schoolblazer is now the leading supplier to the independent community. We now supply over 200 schools accounting for more than 25% of all independent school pupils and almost a third of the largest 500 institutions. Each year more schools join. 2023 is already set to be another significant growth year as an increasing number of schools demand change and reject the poor service their parents have received during the pandemic from either traditional retailers or their own onsite shop.

In summary, it is clear that the independent school community has high and demanding standards for their uniform provider. They need convenience for their parents, design and product innovation for the school’s brand, comfort and fit for their pupils and sustainability for the planet. Schoolblazer is proud to deliver all of these needs in one unique service.

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