USEless

USEless

What if the most affordable uniform is also the most expensive? UK local authorities already pay £73 million a year disposing of textiles that end up in general waste. WRAP projects that could reach £200 million by 2035. Uniform sits inside that stream. Most organisations still buy the cheapest option available. It wears out faster, so they buy it again sooner — and every worn-out uniform still has to be disposed of.

USEless is delivered as a four-part programme: Audit, Replacement, Care, and Timeframes. Each stage supports ethical sourcing, improved compliance, and circular practice, structured to align uniform systems with ESG targets and operational standards without disrupting service.

AUDIT

Identifies where a uniform system may be undermining sustainability claims, exposing operational inefficiencies, or falling short of the safety, ethical, and reporting standards that apply to the client's sector. The process reviews the existing system, evaluates sourcing documentation, and interviews relevant staff and suppliers.

The result is a clear, illustrated report — key risks, insights, and upgrade opportunities — delivered within 10 to 14 working days, in person or remote. Findings belong to the client, who is free to act on them independently, by competitive tender, or in partnership with ABCDEFGHUMAN. It suits any organisation with a uniformed workforce, particularly ahead of a procurement review, investor due diligence, or environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.

REPLACEMENT

When an existing uniform no longer serves sustainability, brand, or operational needs, USEless works with the client to design out the problem — testing textiles, patterns, and construction against durability, comfort, and care requirements before either party commits. Suitable production partners are then identified together; where none exist, ABCDEFGHUMAN can step in. Every stage is phased to avoid service disruption, with production manuals and user records kept for transparency and traceability throughout.

CARE

Equip teams with the knowledge and equipment to care for garments responsibly, extending usable life and reducing environmental impact — through guidance, training, channels, including incentives when garments are repaired or ready to be retired sustainably. Volume and outcome data feed back into the client's ESG reporting. Suited to workforces with high turnover or frequent reordering.

CASE STUDY

‘The Arts Club & Hotel’

Founded in 1863 by Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and Lord Leighton, The Arts Club nearly closed in the years before 2011, when a full renovation relaunched it as a deliberate hybrid — a heritage institution rebuilt around contemporary art, live music, and hospitality. The Georgian townhouse on Dover Street runs across multiple floors: a basement music venue, a curated contemporary art collection overseen by Wedel Art, several restaurants and bars, and rooms and suites across the top two floors.

ABCDEFGHUMAN designed and produced uniforms across the club's departments: double-breasted 100% wool super-lightweight jackets, tailored to men's and women's cuts, for club floor staff; hand-made dresses in a blend of Japanese silk and cotton for Kyubi; hand-painted cotton shirts, each carrying a unique linear design; and natural-fibre uniforms for door staff and housekeeping. No synthetic fibre was used across any garment.

Every design was reviewed in person by the club's leadership — sometimes ownership, sometimes operations directors, sometimes procurement, occasionally housekeeping itself — with fittings held at both the studio and the club. Natural-fibre textiles routinely took longer to source and produce than synthetic equivalents, and factory delays sometimes ran past the client's own timeline. That friction was typical of working in natural fibre at the time, not a failure specific to this project — sourcing responsibly and sourcing quickly were, and often still are, in tension.

OUTCOME

The collaboration demonstrates that ABCDEFGHUMAN can design and produce natural-fibre uniform systems at the scale and standard an important heritage institution demands. The Arts Club reordered for four consecutive years, ending with the pandemic — not through any failure of the garments.

CONTACT

Uniform procurement, are you open to a conversation?

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