A PAIR of local mums have put their heads together to develop an innovative and affordable way to help struggling families to save on school uniform costs.
Like many Tweed Shire mothers, Ginny and Jane are working mums that are often spending a lot of their hard-earned cash on their kid’s school uniforms, sports uniforms and equipment, musical instruments, dance wear and the list goes on.
Ginny’s said she had a size 11 boys blazer, still in perfect condition, that she paid $250 for and wanted some money back.
“I listed it on online via Gumtree and Facebook without any success,” she said.
“A school uniform shop wanted to give me a $50 credit to spend in the shop, which was nice, but I really wanted the $50 to spend on other things.”
This is where Jane comes in, being the self-confessed ideas person that’s motivated to connect local families, schools and businesses.
“Ginny and I needed somewhere to sell secondhand school uniforms,” Jane said.
Ginny’s response was “Jane you are a genius and School Uniform Trading was born”.
The pair have since launched a website, schooluniformtrading.com.au, where parents can list specific uniforms and convert them into cash.
“We know parents are busy, hardworking and want more money in their wallet, this is why we are here to help,” Jane said.
“We’re not trying to take business away from local businesses, which we support, we’re just trying to make some of those uniform costs more affordable for parents who are struggling at the moment.”
The pair said the response from the public had already been “overwhelming”.
“It’s been amazing the need out there,” Ginny said.
“There’s a lot of parents that could do with the extra money and they’re jumping at the chance to list their school clothing.”
The website charges a $5 per year membership fee which then allows users to post as many items as they like.
“It’s been a great success so far with dozens of items already listed and more on the way,” Jane said.
“We really hope this will compliment some families’ budgets and allow them to spend more in other Tweed Shire businesses.”
To find out more please visit: schooluniformtrading.com.au