The sustainable local business that can save parents £100s a year on school uniforms

Have you ever bemoaned how much kids’ school uniforms cost? And just when you’ve got everything all sorted and fitting, your child has another growth spurt and they don’t fit any more, so you have to buy a new one?!

Always infuriating and feels like a never-ending cycle. Worst of all, you don’t know what to do with the old uniforms!

How Cress is helping you save money on school uniforms

Cress is looking to change all that.

Their 24/7 online school shop platform enables families to buy and sell preloved school uniforms, while every transaction directly supports schools and helps protect the planet.

Born in Manchester, this forward-thinking social enterprise has just launched a national campaign to bring its model to every school in the UK,  and they’re doing it with sustainability at their heart.

“We wanted to build a business that was genuinely meaningful,” said Carl Morris, who co-founded Cress with his partner, Katherine Molyneux, and long-time friend Jake Polhill. “I’d already done vodka and chicken,” he laughed, referencing his previous ventures, Revolution Bar and Yard & Coop — “but with two young kids, Katherine and I were ready to focus on something with a lasting legacy. Something our kids, and others, could benefit from.”

The four powerful pillars of Cress

• Saving Parents Money – Helping families save over 50% on the UK’s £422 average annual spend per child on school uniform.
• Funding Schools – Every sale contributes directly to school fundraising, unlocking new income streams without administrative burden.
• Protecting the Planet – Preventing usable clothing and goods from ending up in landfills, while cutting CO2 emissions and reducing waste.
• Educating Through Action – Empowering the next generation with hands-on learning about sustainability, the circular economy, and real-world responsibility.

“The average parent spends over £422 per year per child on school uniform,” Carl explained. “But most kids grow out of their clothes long before they wear them out. So we thought: why not monetise that cycle in a way that benefits everyone?”

The timing couldn’t be better. With cost-of-living pressures weighing on families, school budgets stretched thin, and growing urgency around sustainability, Cress offers a well-rounded solution. And being Manchester-based is no coincidence, the city’s strong sense of community and appetite for innovation have shaped the business from day one.

“It’s something that benefits everyone”

“We started in local schools across Greater Manchester, and the response was overwhelming,” Carl said. “Parents were keen to save money, of course, but there’s a real appetite for supporting sustainability too. People want to do the right thing: they just need an easy way to do it.”

Cress fits neatly into modern buying habits. “Most parents are browsing online after the kids have gone to bed,” said Carl. “So we made sure the school shops are open 24/7. It’s as easy as shopping on Amazon,  but way more ethical.”

There’s no upfront cost to the schools, no ongoing fees, and no need to buy stock. “We just ask families to donate one item per term. That’s enough to keep the shop going,” Carl explained. “It’s a circular economy in action.”

Ways to help the environment

The environmental impact is significant. “We’re talking about tonnes of usable clothing being kept in circulation, CO2 saved, and less pressure on textile production,” said Carl. “We’re not importing uniforms made with plastic-based fibres from overseas. We’re reusing what’s already here — right within the school community.”

But Cress doesn’t stop at being a marketplace. It’s also a learning platform.

“In secondary schools, we get students involved in running the shop,” said Carl. “They learn about e-commerce, marketing, logistics, real-world business skills. But more than that, they’re learning what sustainability actually looks like in practice.”

“We want the next generation to grow up with these values as second nature,” Carl said.

“Not just being told to recycle, but understanding the wider ecosystem, and their place in it.”

Cress X Awesome Books

The community ethos runs deep at Cress. That’s why they’ve also partnered with Awesome Books, a social enterprise that prevents books from going to landfill. For every purchase made through Cress, schools receive a donated book.

“It’s another way we’re promoting both sustainability and education,” said Carl. “Because the reality is not every child has a house full of books. And with the rising costs of everything, it’s getting harder for parents to keep up with their kids’ reading levels and interests.”

The partnership helps fill school libraries and classroom shelves with books that deserve a second life, extending the same reuse philosophy from clothing to learning materials.

Since its September launch, hundreds of schools have expressed interest. “We’ve had backing from GC Angels and we’ve built a solid infrastructure,” Carl said.

“Now, we just need to raise awareness and get more schools signed up. The shops are free to set up, the onboarding is free, the marketing is free.”

Cress takes a small commission, currently 13%,  from each sale to fund operations, but the rest goes straight back to the schools.

“We’re not asking schools to do anything extra, no new admin, no chasing payments, no hassle. We’ve made it frictionless on purpose.”

What’s next for Cress?

Carl and the team have ambitious plans for 2025 and beyond. “We want to see a Cress shop in every school in the country,” he said.

“It’s scalable, it’s sustainable, and most importantly, it works.”

You can find out more about Cress on their website by clicking here

If schools or PTA’s are interested they can register their interest here