NTU’s Professional Student Wardrobe saves over 3,000kg of clothing from landfill in its first year
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has celebrated the success of the first year of its Professional Student Wardrobe with a student-run fashion catwalk show.
By Sarah McLeod | Published on 15 April 2025
Categories: Press office;
Just 12 months ago, NTU partnered with local sustainable charity White Rose to launch a Student Wardrobe – offering students free access to professional clothing for interviews, assessment days and recruitment activities in addition to employability support, including coaching, interview preparation and skills development.
Since then, the Professional Student Wardrobe has:
- Diverted 3,023kg of clothing from landfill
- Saved 11,711.52kg of CO₂ emissions
- Distributed 2,850 items of clothing to students
- Supported 1,587 students, saving them approximately £34,000 collectively
To celebrate the inaugural year of the Professional Student Wardrobe, a catwalk show – run by students – took place with live music, creative visuals and models showcasing outfits. The event was attended by student users, NTU colleagues, local employers and community partners.
Debra Easter, Director of Employability Services at Nottingham Trent University said: “We’re really proud of our Professional Student Wardrobe initiative, which has helped support students with rising financial pressures at the same time as meeting net-zero commitments.
“In the last year, we’ve given hundreds of students access to professional clothing, used to further opportunities through training and skills development, as well as leading to employment. Not only that, it has delivered major sustainability impact by saving clothing from landfill and CO₂ emissions.
“We’re excited about what comes next – more collaborations and plans to help even more students, this is a fantastic initiative that is just at the beginning of its journey.”
Donation boxes are present on all NTU campuses for anyone to donate pre-loved items in good condition. In addition, there are a number of partnerships in place with local employers who also collect donations as well as partnerships with local organisations who receive surplus clothing, such as the Nottingham Women’s Centre.
Nottingham based charity White Rose collects the donations and prepares them to be displayed in the Wardrobe Shop based on NTU’s City campus. Any surplus stock is retained by White Rose for resale or recycling.
The Student Wardrobe is not just for students’ use, it is also run by students – over 100 have been employed over the past year – providing them additional valuable employment skills and experience. Roles include co-ordinating donations, social media and running the day-to-day operations. Student projects with Nottingham School of Art & Design and Nottingham Business School has also led to additional ideas for development as well as plans for marketing.
Events throughout the year have also seen a pop-up on NTU’s Brackenhurst campus, supporting around 150 students with workwear including PPE relevant for agricultural/rural courses.
Cosi Standeven, Professional Student Wardrobe Coordinator (Placement) said: “The Professional Student Wardrobe started as a vision, one that aimed to break down barriers to professional dress and make sure that every NTU student has the confidence to step into their future, looking and feeling their best. And now, one year later, we stand here, not just with a wardrobe full of clothes, but with a community full of support, opportunity, and transformation.
“We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Wardrobe, from our student employability workers and volunteers to our incredible employer partners, donors, and, of course, the NTU community. Your belief in this project has been the reason for its success.
“Here’s to another year of styling, empowering, and growing.”
More information about the Professional Student Wardrobe can be found at https://www.ntu.ac.uk/c/ntu-professional-wardrobe
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Sarah McLeod, Corporate Communications Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8735, or via email.
About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has been named UK ‘University of the Year’ five times in six years, (Times Higher Education Awards 2017, The Guardian University Awards 2019, The Times and Sunday Times 2018 and 2023, Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023) and is consistently one of the top performing modern universities in the UK.
It is the 3rd best modern university in the UK (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023). Students have voted NTU 1st in the UK for student employability (Uni Compare 2025)
NTU is the 5th largest UK institution by student numbers, with over 40,000 students and more than 4,400 staff located across six campuses. It has an international student population of almost 7,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
NTU owns two Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for outstanding achievements in research (2015, 2021). The first recognises NTU’s research on the safety and security of global citizens. The second was awarded for research in science, engineering, arts and humanities to investigate and restore cultural objects, buildings and heritage. The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU was awarded GOLD in the national 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment, as it was in 2019.
NTU is a top 10 for sport (British Universities and Colleges Sport league table 2023).
NTU is the most environmentally sustainable university in the UK and second in the world (UI Green Metric University World Rankings, 2023).