A pioneering Gateshead clothing brand is on a mission to change the way parents shop for school uniform.
Etika is a new range of durable schoolwear described by its creators as “truly ethical, uniformly different.”
Aimed at the primary school market, the Birtley-based company guarantees its uniforms are made without child or forced labour.
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Three County Durham primary schools have already signed-up to make the new range of ethically sourced uniforms available to their pupils.
And with parents and consumers in general becoming increasingly concerned about the hidden human cost behind the clothes we wear, it’s hoped up to 50 other schools can be encouraged to follow their lead and partner with Etika by the end of the year.
The fledgling venture is the brainchild of Sean Murray, who has 40 years’ of international development experience working in Asia, Africa and Indonesia, and was one of the first members of Traidcraft.
He and business partners David Beavis, who has for many years worked in the corporate and charity sectors, and Padma Kapoor, who runs her own clothing factory in Gujarat, India, where the kidswear is made, are on a mission to make a difference with the range, which also brings financial benefits to schools through either a 3% cash gift from sales or uniform donations to meet the needs of families in hardship.
Jo Long, Etika’s sales and marketing manager, said: “There has been a lot of publicity around the cost of school wear, but much is produced in factories where the conditions are very poor. Many parents don’t want their children to be wearing clothes that are likely to have been made by other children in sweatshops overseas.
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“A growing number of children are also now aware of ethical issues and are becoming more conscious of what they are wearing. They are the mouthpiece for changing the way we buy, and we are doing this for the next generation of children going through primary school.”
Green Lane CE Primary School in Barnard Castle, County Durham, was the first to come on board after its pupil council debated the issue and asked to change uniform supplier. St Mary’s RC Primary School in Barnard Castle, and St Margaret’s CE Primary School in Crossgate Peth, Durham, have also signed up to offer the Etika uniforms to their students.
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Kim Hall, business manager at Green Lane, said: “We’re passionate about our Christian values and when the pupils and staff heard Etika’s ethical promise, we couldn’t ignore it and knew we had to be a part of this journey.
“We all wanted to work with a company like Etika, a company that provides high quality uniforms and clothing sourced through an ethical supply chain. We also loved the fact that they’re doing their bit to reduce single use plastic by removing this from their packaging.”
Ms Long added that Etika had been many years in the making.
She said: “Padma and Sean have known and worked with each other for a long time. Both have long been aware of the ethical problems surrounding garment manufacturing in some countries with child labour and poor conditions, so when the opportunity came to put their energies into Etika it was a chance they couldn’t ignore.
“Our mission is to offer every child in the 海角视频 the opportunity to wear an ethically sourced school uniform, which ‘give back’ to 海角视频 schools in terms of finance and education, and to communities in India to improve their standards of living.”