Students strut stuff as project marks milestone

A project to cut down on clothing waste and save students money is hoping to expand after a "fantastic" first year.

Nottingham Trent University (NTU) said it launched the Professional Student Wardrobe project with charity White Rose to offer students free access to professional clothing for interviews and recruitment events.

It said the scheme has stopped 3,023kg of clothing from going into landfill, saving 11,711.52kg of carbon dioxide emissions, and distributed 2,850 items of clothing to students, saving them about £34,000.

The first anniversary of the scheme was marked by a celebratory display on 3 April.

Donation boxes for clothes have been placed on all NTU campuses, with the university also working with other organisations receiving surplus clothing across the city, such as the Nottingham Women's Centre.

White Rose collected and prepared donations for display in the Wardrobe Shop on NTU's city campus.

More than 100 students have been employed over the past year, the university said, with their work including co-ordinating donations, social media and "running the day-to-day operations".

Debra Easter, NTU's director of employability services, said the university was proud of the project's success.

"In the last year, we've given hundreds of students access to professional clothing, used to further opportunities through training and skills development, as well as leading to employment," she said.

"We're excited about what comes next – more collaborations and plans to help even more students. This is a fantastic initiative that is just at the beginning of its journey."

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