West Midlands Trains

Background
When West Midlands Trains (WMT) took over the franchise of London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway in December 2017 it needed an up-to-date uniform for its 2,000 plus employees. What this meant, of course, was a large amount of clothing that could no longer be used. The question was how WMT could dispose of its old uniform without it going to landfill.


Finding a remedy that benefitted the community first and foremost was a top priority: no one wanted to see perfectly good clothing stock be disposed of if it could be repurposed elsewhere. Enter employee Jon Harris, integrated transport, accessibility and development manager at WMT. Having been part of the Salvation Army since he was a teenager, he approached the organisation to ask if it could help.

"Benfitting the community first and foremost was a top priority"

Approach
The Salvation Army Trading Company (SATC) stepped in to repurpose, debadge and either sell the redundant uniforms in its network or 200 shops or repurpose them into other usable materials. For example, interview and work wear has been given to people seeking employment and work experience. Other used items have been shredded and turned into insulation, mattress fillers and even soundproofing for cars. During the 12-week donation process clothing handovers were organised between WMT staff and Salvation Army stakeholders and various locations, with more than 50 people involved.

Outcome
To evaluate success, WMT focused on the number of items donated (more than 5,000), amount of landfill saved (at least 15 tonnes), number of WMT and SATC engagements and number of people supported with clothing. On the back of the initiative WMT is now working with the Salvation Army (SA) to site clothing donation banks at railway station car parks and the SA’s Employment Plus programmes is partnering in a free rail ticket scheme for those needing to get back into employment.