Hello,
Product Care
While we strive to reduce our environmental impact during production, the consumer phase is generally recognised as having the greatest footprint in the clothing lifecycle. That’s why we focus on educating customers on how to care best for our products to maximise their lifespan and sustainability.
We’ve also developed our new Product Quality, Care and Repair Guide—a comprehensive resource that outlines the materials we use, the finishes applied, and practical tips for caring for and repairing garments. Click below to download the guide and help you extend the life of schoolwear.
Why settle for 100 days when our uniform is
built to last all year long?
You may have seen other brands boasting about uniforms that last 100 days, but that’s just over three months. At Banner, we go further. We put our core products through the 50 Wash Challenge, where an independent test house washes them 50 times and checks for fading, shrinking, and seam damage. This rigorous testing gives us the confidence to say our uniforms are built to withstand a full year’s worth of washing and still look great.
What is Banners
50 Wash Challenge?
The Banner 50 Wash Challenge is a way of putting garments through their paces to make sure they’re built to last. Each item is washed 50 times, that’s about the same as a full school year of regular washing, so we can see exactly how it holds up over time.
To keep things fair and accurate, all the testing is carried out by an independent, industry-leading UK test house. At regular intervals throughout the process, each garment is checked across 17 different performance areas, including colour change, pilling, shrinkage, fraying, cross-staining, and stitching strength. It’s a thorough approach that gives us a clear picture of how well our products stand up to everyday life.
Results are also compared directly with similar garments from other brands, so we can see how they measure up and where there’s room to do even better. This helps us to fine-tune designs, make improvements where needed, and ensure we’re always offering the best possible quality.
The 50 Wash Challenge isn’t just about testing, it’s about making sure you can rely on our products day in, day out, and helping us stay at the top of our game when it comes to quality and innovation.
How our products perform...
Curious about how our products really perform? You're in the right place! Take a look at the results for some of our key products below...
-
APTUS Sportswear
- No colour change or loss
- No fraying of fabric or trims
- No detachment of fabric or trims
- No unravelling or breaks in stitching
- No opening of seams
- Excellent pilling results with no significant pilling or fuzz of surface fibres
- No differential shrinkage, distortion or wrinkling of fabric applications or seams
-
Girls Skirts
- No cross staining
- No fraying of fabrics and trims
- No detachment of fastenings or trims
- No opening of seams
- No shrinkage, distortion or wrinkling of fabric applications or seams
- No unravelling or breaks to stitching
-
Shirts & Blouses
- No colour change or loss
- No fraying of fabric or trims
- No twisting of seams
- No detachment of fastenings and trims
- No unravelling or breaks in stitching
- Better pilling and shrinking results than leading supermarkets
-
Blazers
- No colour change or loss
- No fraying of fabric or trims
- No pilling or fuzz to surface fibres
- No cross staining
- No detachment of fastenings and trims
- No unravelling or breaks in stitching
- No wadding movement or fibre migration
-
Polos
- No colour change or loss
- No fraying of fabric or trims
- No detachment of fastenings and trims
- No unravelling or breaks in stitching
- No opening of seams
- Better pilling and shrinking results than leading supermarkets
-
Sweats
- No cross staining
- No fraying of fabrics or trims
- No detachment of fastenings and trims
- No twisting or opening of seams
- No unravelling or breaks in stitching
- No differential shrinkage, distortion or wrinkling of fabric applications or seams
-
Boys Trousers
- No cross staining
- No fraying of fabric or trims
- No damage or corrosion to trims
- No opening of seams
- No unravelling or breaks to stitching
-
Summer Dresses
- No colour change, loss or cross staining
- No fraying of fabric or trims
- No detachment of fastening or trims
- No twisting or opening of seams
- No damage or corrosion to trims
- No shrinkage, distortion or wrinkling of fabric applications or seams
- No unravelling or breaks to stitching
-
Girls Trousers
- No cross staining
- No fraying of fabrics and trims
- No detachment of fastenings or trims
- No opening of seams
- No shrinkage, distortion or wrinkling of fabric applications or seams
- No unravelling or breaks to stitching
Product Sizing
Our Banner products are designed in line with UK average sizing to ensure a consistent and reliable fit. We carefully develop our garments using Alvanon mannequins, which help us create products that reflect modern-day consumers. Since 2001, Alvanon has used advanced technology and body shape data to support leading brands and retailers in refining their fit and sizing strategies. This allows us to create products that cater to all shapes and sizes, ensuring every student feels comfortable and confident in their uniform.
Room to
grow hems
Our boy’s trousers come with ‘Room to Grow’ hems that allow customers to get ahead of growth spurts and add an extra 3cm length to their existing trousers.
Pass me on
As of 2023, all our blazers and jackets include a ‘Pass me on’ label with space to write multiple names. This encourages customers to pass on their clothing once they have outgrown it.
Adjustable waists
Our junior trousers and skirts are designed with an elasticated back waist, ensuring comfort. Meanwhile, our senior trousers and skirts include back waist adjusters to ensure a perfect fit.
Behind the seams: Our approach to quality control
Each of our suppliers employ a team of Quality Control (QC) specialists dedicated to ensuring that all products meet our specific requirements. The overseas QC team will inspect product prior to sending, guaranteeing that we only receive products that are consistent with our high-quality requirements.
Further inspections are then carried out by our QC team in the UK. Their responsibility is to assess deliveries from our factories using AQL methodology, ensuring that every shipment meets our stringent standards and that suppliers consistently uphold our quality expectations.
We carefully choose high-quality fabrics that are not only comfortable to wear but also easy to maintain. We work with our suppliers to ensure that all our fabrics are fit for purpose and require independent testing to be carried out on our fabrics prior to selection.
Factory Standards
Our main supplier, Banner, are proud to be a certified B Corp, they are committed to creating sustainable schoolwear and making a lasting positive impact on people and the planet. Banner’s B Corp certification means fair working conditions, transparent supply chains, and responsible sourcing practices. Sourcing from high-quality factories remains our priority.
Fabric Consistency
One of the key factors in uniform production is fabric colour and consistency. To ensure uniformity across all stock, swatches from each new fabric batch are reviewed and approved by the QC team.
Pilling Resistance
Fabric is tested for pilling using a method that simulates wear and abrasion to see how easily tiny fiber balls (pills) form on the surface. One common method is the Martindale Abrasion and Pilling Tester, where fabric samples are rubbed against a standard abrasive material in a controlled motion.
Colour Fastness
Before production even begins, all our materials are tested in a dedicated laboratory to meet strict international standards. Colour fastness is tested by exposing fabric to light, washing, or rubbing to see if the colour fades or transfers. Light Rooms ensure colours are consistent across every item. We inspect fabrics and finished garments before and during production, so parents can trust in the uniformity and finish of each piece.
Stitching, Embroidery and Further QC Checks
Final quality checks in garment factories ensure products meet standards before shipping. Inspectors look for defects like loose threads, poor stitching, colour mismatches, and size errors. They also verify trims, labels, measurements, and test zippers and buttons. Only garments that pass all checks are packed and shipped, ensuring consistent quality and customer satisfaction.
Packing
Garments are neatly folded with protective inserts, sealed in polybags with barcodes, then sorted and packed into labelled cartons for secure, organised delivery.
Get in touch
Got questions about our products? Contact us—we’re happy to help!