Helping Schools & Suppliers

The Schoolwear Association promotes the benefits of school specific uniform to schools, students and parents. We believe that a distinctive uniform aids a sense of belonging and is good for security in and out of school.

Creating a strong market

The Schoolwear Association is a great example of an industry working together to build a strong network of like minded companies and individuals, who believe in the creation and sustainability of a strong and ethical market place.

From the Executive which is made up of volunteer members who give their time freely and in a generous spirit, to the members who sign up to a code of conduct and care about the children they ultimately supply, the Association is much more than your normal trade body. We would encourage all in the industry to help us drive up standards and benefit from our collective work.

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Benefits to Members

The Schoolwear Association promotes the benefits of school specific uniform to schools, students and parents. We believe that a distinctive uniform aids a sense of belonging and is good for security in and out of school.

Become a member of the SA today

  • Strong communications
    The SA Committee is made up of a diverse group of people from across the whole industry with a passion for what we do. We give our time voluntarily and draw on our collective experience in the industry to strengthen and grow our sector. We communicate all relevant issues to our members regularly.

  • Fact sheets
    We have produced a series of fact sheets to help you deal with the issues in your business. These can be downloaded from our site. Examples are…. advice on getting local media coverage, updates on the volatile raw materials prices, trade marking logos and several more.

  • Lobbying
    We are in active discussion with a wide range of organisations including Government Agencies, the Office of Fair Trading, National Governors Association, various teacher and parent organisations and many more. We have actively campaigned to have VAT reduced to 5% on upper badged school uniform and vigorously entered the debate when it looked likely that all children’s clothing would become liable for VAT with a strong letter to the Chancellor and representation on the TV debate on the issue

  • Higher standards
    We promote best practice among our members and aim to strengthen the links between schools, retailers, manufacturers and suppliers. Our members sign up to a Code of Practice outlining ethical and fair trading and we communicate with the vast majority of schools to encourage them to actively seek our members for their supply needs.

  • Media support
    We can offer advice and guidance when dealing with the press. Members have gained useful coverage for their own businesses as a result of our guidance. We have our own PR service which monitors stories in the press and actively seeks to gain positive press for our sector particularly at the “back to school” period when the media is very active. We have a team of speakers form our Executive who are trained to speak to the press on our behalf.

  • Events
    We meet regularly to develop The Association, grow its membership and therefore its sphere of influence. We also hold our own event at The Schoolwear Show for a little social time together and to raise much needed funding so that we can continue our invaluable work.

Register to join

Joining the Schoolwear Association is the right move for your business. To register your interest in joining, please click the link below to download the application form. By working together we can help to make the uniform market run smoothly.

  • Fill out our online application form
  • Read and agree to adhere to the : "Association's Code of Practice"
  • Pay your annual membership via quarterly or annual Direct Debit
  • Receive excellent communications, POS materials and support
  • Get Involved!

Membership Levels 2023

Band A - Affiliates (Agents,Charities etc) - £120 p.a. ex. VAT
Turnover - N/A
Band B - Retailer / Supplier - £300 p.a. ex. VAT
Turnover - 0 up to £500k
Band C - Retailer / Supplier - £400 p.a. ex. VAT
Turnover - £500k to £1m
Band D - Retailer / Supplier - £750 p.a. ex. VAT
Turnover - £1m to £2.5m
Band E - Retailer / Supplier - £1400 p.a. ex. VAT
Turnover - £2.5m to £5m
Band F - Retailer / Supplier - £2250 p.a. ex. VAT
Turnover - £5m to £10m
Band G - Retailer / Supplier - £7000 p.a. ex. VAT
Turnover - £10m+

Join 200+ Schoolwear Professionals

The Association is proud to have both supplier and retail members who pay a subscription towards the valuable work that we do. Our Executive give their time voluntarily, but the fees collected help us to produce informative material, lobby interested parties and of course provide a publicity service to the media. In addition we work with schools to further the provision of good school uniform, and all the benefits that confers on both the schools and the pupils.

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