CRESS, an innovative pre-loved school uniform platform based in Manchester, has secured £234k in a pre-seed funding round led by GC Angels alongside One Planet Capital and a number of angel investors.
The funding will enable CRESS to enhance its roll-out of an easy-to-use digital platform that connects schools and parents with sustainable and affordable school uniforms.
It will also help CRESS to expand its number of partnerships and scale its mission of making school uniforms more affordable, whilst tackling the environmental impact of clothing waste in the UK.
With the cost-of-living crisis placing a significant financial strain on families around the country, the demand for affordable second-hand school uniforms is growing rapidly. However, many families are still sending perfectly good uniforms to landfill, rather than following a reuse or recycle scheme.
To combat this, CRESS’s platform provides a seamless process for parents to donate these pre-loved items, with families able to purchase them at a fraction of the cost. On average, parents can save up to 70% on the price of new uniforms through the platform.
In addition to this, schools signed up to the platform receive over 80% of the revenue from these sales, helping them to secure additional funding that is crucial in the current macroclimate.
To enhance its sustainability efforts, CRESS has partnered with Carma, a Manchester-based climate impact company. For every pre-loved item sold through the platform, CRESS will contribute to planting new trees across the UK, enhancing the ecological benefits of its platform.
It has also partnered with Awesome Books, which mirrors CRESS’ ethos to save products from going to landfill. Through this partnership, each order through CRESS will also receive a free, age-appropriate book, saving children’s books from going to landfill.
The success of CRESS’s model is evident in its partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which has supported CRESS in the roll out of its platform. Through the GMCA’s support, CRESS has reached more than 1,200 schools across the 10 Greater Manchester councils.
Carl Morris, a seasoned entrepreneur, is the driving force behind CRESS. Having been part of the team to scale the Revolution bar chain across the UK in the 2000s, Carl now owns and operates Yard & Coop, a popular bar and restaurant in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Recently, Carl was awarded the ‘Sustainability Entrepreneur of the Year (North West)’ at the 2024 GB Entrepreneur Awards, celebrating his commitment to driving sustainable change. His partner, Katherine Molyneux, who works full-time at CRESS, was also awarded with the ‘Sustainability Champion Award’ at the 2025 Made in Manchester Awards.
Carl Morris, co-founder of CRESS, said:
“We are joining sustainability with affordability, supporting schools to sell pre-loved uniforms through an online, customer-friendly platform. Our model helps parents save money, supports schools with vital funding, and reduces waste and carbon emissions – all whilst making sure no perfectly good uniform item goes to waste.”
“By encouraging donations of pre-loved uniforms, we’re not only helping families, but we’re also reducing the environmental impact of school clothing waste. The UK sends thousands of school uniform items to landfill or incineration every year, but with CRESS, we can decrease this waste, provide children with books and plant trees all in one go.”
“We’re so passionate about making a difference, and we’re really grateful to Ranvir and GC Angels for their support. By introducing us to the likes of GMCA and Carma, along with their financial investment, GC Angels is helping to propel CRESS into our next stage of growth. This will mean we can support even more schools across not only Greater Manchester, but also country-wide.”
Ranvir Singh, investment manager at GC Angels, said:
“We were so impressed by the potential of CRESS to create both social and environmental impact at scale. The business model is innovative and the team’s ability to work closely with schools ensures that CRESS will reach thousands of families, providing real value to local communities. After connecting CRESS with the GMCA and Carma, the team has forged strong partnerships, clearly demonstrating the growing confidence in the platform.”
