An example of an old Estates jacket, now re-used by Leftover Threads
As part of the renewal of the University Estates team last year and the recent campus rebrand, new uniform was rolled out across the Estates team and adopted by colleagues in cleaning, maintenance, housekeeping, and more.
To prevent the hundreds of now obsolete uniform items from going to waste, such as polo shirts and jumpers, the Estates team has arranged to donate all useable items to charity to be reused and recycled, working with Brighton-based initiatives Leftover Threads and Gladrags.
The four charities that have received these donations are as follows:
- Care4Calais – donations have been sent to Calais to be used as clothing for refugees
- The Good News Shed – donations were amended with the charity's logo, which provides skill-sharing and project opportunities for the Brighton community
- Switchboard Brighton Housing Trust – donations were repurposed to provide clothing to the unhoused in Brighton
- Over The Moon – donations were scrapped and reused as craft material at the Scrap Space, a local community creative re-use hub
We have donated roughly half a ton of clothing in total, saving approximately 2.5 tonnes of carbon emissions (equivalent if it were incinerated), supporting local circular economy initiatives and charity groups extending to outside the UK.
This project was led by Matt Carter, Environmental, Social and Governance Manager in the Estates team:
“It's great that our local community has mobilised to create positive climate and circular economy impacts in Sussex and further afield.
“Continuing to drive positive impacts in the community is central to the University and its values, as both a major local employer and a higher education institution, and we encourage colleagues and students to get involved in sustainable programmes wherever they can.”
See more about Estates at Sussex, and find out more about how we’re working to make Sussex one of the most sustainable universities in the world.