The Schoolwear Association's campaign to reduce the rate of VAT to 5% on upper body, badged school uniform items is gathering momentum in the run-up to the back to school period.

School-specific uniform items should get a tax break to end an illogical anomaly which is undermining the Government's drive to make school uniforms affordable for all. MP Nigel Evans has tabled an Early Day Motion in support of the Schoolwear Association's campaign to reduce the rate of VAT to 5% on upper body, badged school uniform items and the motion is receiving cross party support with over 50 signatures.

Absolute Apparel is showing 16 pages of children's clothing in this year's catalogue. All of the garments are designed for ease of decoration and are suitable for school or leisurewear. Four brands are represented this year, including Gildan, Fruit of the Loom, Absolute Apparel and, for the first time, Stedman.

Balmoral says demand for its school-specific uniform knitwear has been increasing over the past 12 months, in spite of the debate in the media. "We are making more bespoke styles of knitwear all the time, and now bespoke polo shirt and fleeces as well," says Mike Carden.

It is crucial in today's schoolwear market to be able to adapt existing garments to suit current trends, says Beezer.

New to BTC activewear's Schoolwear collection is Gildan's 7480B Children's 65/35 Combed Ring Spun Polo. Available in eight standard school colours, the 185gsm easy care fabric is guaranteed at 60 degrees centigrade. Available in adult sizes too, this practical polo shirt has two colour-matched buttons, contoured welt collar and cuffs and is quarter turned to eliminate centre creases.

The school specific schoolwear market is an area under increasing pressure from the major retailers, who are offering cheap, unbranded uniform to parents. But what effect is this having on the printwear market, where prices are almost certainly higher? Jeremy Phillips, Sales Director at Blue Max Stag says that inevitably customers realise that quality is more important than price.

Whether it's in a school class, band or football team - all activities are twice as much fun when played in a team. Gustav Daiber GmbH offers Club 'n' School Now Collection, a product range of trendy team wear that can be combined according to taste.

With the continuing changes to the clothing market as a result of cheaper overseas manufacturing and widespread low cost distribution, school retailers, school shops and manufacturers of schoolwear have had to adapt their processes in order to succeed in a competitive marketplace, as Sharon Norris, customer services manager at Gymphlex Ltd explains:

The advantage for the printer and embroiderer using established supply clothing brands to source schoolwear as opposed to high street alternatives such as Asda is the continuity of supply, says Finden+Hales. "Supply clothing brands are able to offer the same style, fit, fabric and colourways year on year where supermarkets and the high street are subject to change due to fashion influences," it explains.

For 2008 Prestige Leisure has added further products to its already extensive range of school and children's wear.

Fruit of the Loom reports increased sales of its Children's styles into the UK school wear market during 2007, following improvements to the garments' quality and performance.

"The schoolwear market definitely changed when supermarkets entered the arena,"says David Abrahams, marketing manager at PenCarrie. "However, decorators currently have a real advantage over other outlets, in that decorators can offer schools a complete service in a way that few, if any, supermarkets can hope to do. This includes the major reassurance of continuity of garment colour from one order to the next: all the brands we carry are scrupulous about this."

Demand for good quality school bags has been less affected by the strong pricing pressures affecting other areas of schoolwear, says Iain Lamb of Quadra. "Demand is such that sales of our school bags have increased steadily over the past couple of years," he says.

Schoolwear plays such an important part of the market and Henbury has a number of products that fulfil this demand, such as the children's and adults' tipped polo shirt, which offers an alternative to the traditional solid dye polo shirt.

Regatta says its reputation for superior garments at excellent value does not stop at its adult ranges. The success of the Kidswear range is attributed to the application of its knowledge and resources acquired from over 20 years within the outdoor market, it says.

Schoolwear is a feature of many garment decorators ranges. With so many schools now preferring to source their uniform from a local supplier, there has never been a better time to review the schoolwear selection available from UKL.

Clitheroe based schoolwear specialist, Trutex, has put its blazers to the test by providing 50 badged blazers for the pintsized brain boxes on Sky One's ‘Are you Smarter Than A Ten Year Old', which is presented by Noel Edmonds.

The constant reminders needed for kids to be careful on the roads and their equally constant ignoring of them can be significantly reinforced and enhanced by kitting them out with RTY HV077 High Visibility Kids Vests.

School uniform is an item bought out of necessity and is an expense that most British parents will face. Yet many are unaware that school uniform is only VAT exempt on sizes that the Government judges would fit children under the age of 14. The Schoolwear Association believes that this state of affairs must change; consequently the new trade body for the whole school-specific uniform industry is continuing its drive to cut VAT from 17.5% to 5% on all items of school-specific uniform and sports kit, i.e. items which carry the school badge or emblem and are worn only at school.

It has been an eventful year for the schoolwear industry. Aside from managing the usual onslaught of press interest that annually surfaces in July, the schoolwear industry has been under investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), with other interested parties, from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) to Kevin Brenan MP, also weighing into the debate on school uniform costs.

Children may only just be going back to school for the new academic year but already it’s time for printwear professionals, uniform suppliers and headteachers to make decisions about what pupils will be wearing in a year’s time.

Following the acquisition of the Stag group at the end of last year, the Blue Max Group claims to now be the most comprehensive supplier of schoolwear in the UK. The first ever Blue Max Stag combined catalogue, which will be available to customers from November 2007, offers everything a child needs for the school year, says the company.

Fruit of the Loom says its new Kids Sweats have completed their first full academic year with flying colours. The Kids Raglan Sweat, Set-In Sweat, Hooded Sweat, and Zip Through Hooded Sweat, (plus the complementary Jog Pants), were re-engineered in Fruit of the Loom’s next-generation polyester/cotton fleece fabrics in 2006.

Schoolwear plays such an important part in the print wear market, says Henbury, a company which offers a number of products to fulfil this demand. The children’s tipped polo shirts is a perfect example, says Henbury, and is a great alternative to the traditional solid dye polo shirt. The contrast tipping on the collar and cuffs gives schools or clubs the opportunity to co-ordinate House Colours as well as contrast opposition colours for their sports teams.

To start the next academic year in style, Mantis World has introduced two new kids polo shirts to the Humbugz collection – the HM58 Boys Stretch Polo and complementary HM59 Girls Stretch Polo. Taking the classic short sleeve polo shirt design, Humbugz has added new fashion details to set these styles apart, such as a trendy narrow placket and contrast colour twill tape finish to inside neck and side vents for a flash of colour.

Schoolwear spans so much, from uniforms (indoor and outdoor wear), high visibility street safety wear, sportswear and extra curricular leisure and school trip clothing (including caps and bags). PenCarrie covers all categories and provides hard-wearing, practical designs from a broad range of quality brands.

Children are tough on clothes with their playful, non-stop nature. Choosing garments able to endure hours of play in all manner of environments can therefore be a difficult job for schools and parents. Materials that can withstand the daily rigours of a child at play, whilst remaining gentle to their skin, are the demands of the day.

Result’s dedicated Junior Range of high-quality jackets combines both functional and fashion elements for two to 14-year-olds.

Result has ensured that its jackets are not only fun and easy to wear but can also withstand the most vigorous child play. It also ensures that all linings have easy access points to accommodate decoration such as school logos.

Schoolwear is a a core feature of many garment decorators’ ranges, says UKL, and with so many schools now preferring to source their uniform from a local supplier, there has never been a better time to review the schoolwear selection available from UK Leisurewear.

Rowlinson has launched Roganic – a new organic polo shirt to the schoolwear industry. Roganic uses 100% organic cotton, which has been grown without using any harmful chemicals or pesticides. It is kind to the environment and customers can be confident that the land on which it has been grown has benefited from a more sustainable approach to farming, says Rowlinson.

If you thought school uniform couldn’t get much more high-tech than blazers and jumpers with knife-resistant lining, think again. The latest 21st century technology to hit the schoolwear market could well be GPS tracking devices, says Trutex, whose recent survey revealed safety conscious mums are calling for them to be incorporated into school uniform.

Trutex offers a range of affordable uniforms that mix function with fashion and practicality with durability. With over 100 years of expertise in schoolwear, Trutex says it understands kids, what they like to wear, how comfortable they like to feel and can also satisfy parents in terms of price, durability, practicality and easy maintenance.

Following the introduction of an industry standard to govern childrenswear and schoolwear, Blue Max talked to Printwear & Promotion about its benefits and hindrances to the industry.

BTC activewear has expanded the childrenswear section of its 2006 brochure by adding a number of new garments ideally suited to meet the exacting demands of the schoolwear sector.

Parents increasingly look for a range of schoolwear that is good quality, but is a reasonable price; Blue Max has been able to meet these requirements again and again.

The 2006 UK Leisurewear brochure boasts a 34-page Children’s section.

Regatta's Corporate range for 2006 features a number of schoolwear garments that are of superb quality, excellent design and offer great value for money.

Because kids are tough on clothes, Kustom Kit kids wear is produced using only the finest fabrics and exacting technical specifications to ensure they easily withstand the rigours of the playground, playing field and class room, as well as continuing to look great wash after wash.

When it comes to schoolwear, every parent knows that robust, hardwearing garments are what boisterous, playful children need.

'Improving Performance In Our Schools' is the aptly titled new schoolwear brochure from Fruit of the Loom.

Three premium brands providing schoolwear favourites are Whytes (for its classic V-neck sweater); Tombo (for sports team wear that really performs); and Front Row (for great after-school wear).

There is an exceptional choice of quality schoolwear available from PenCarrie - check out the website at www.pencarrie.com or turn to pages 203-215 of this year's catalogue to see the full selection.

Having entered 2006 with a refreshed new look, the Jerzees Schoolgear brand continues to recognise the need for quality, durability, cost-effectiveness and consistency, ensuring its popularity with schools, parents and children alike.

Sweatshirts still remain a firm favourite for any school wishing to create a uniform in the UK and this is why Gildan has added the new 18000B Youth Crewneck sweatshirt.

With back to school looming, all thoughts move to school wear and Henbury is no exception.

Result's dedicated Junior Range of high-quality jackets combines both functional and fashion elements for 2-14 year olds.