Transport group Stagecoach is to issue its bus drivers across the UK with new greener clothing made from recycled plastic bottles.• New product to be rolled out to all UK Bus drivers • Project to save 350,000 plastic bottles going to landfill*

Transport group Stagecoach is to issue its bus drivers across the UK with new greener clothing made from recycled plastic bottles.

Incorporatewear, which designs and supplies the company’s uniform, has developed a new fleece which is now being rolled out to staff across Stagecoach’s UK Bus division.

Stagecoach, which employs more than 14,000 bus drivers across the UK, has adopted the unusual garment as part of its commitment to becoming a more sustainable business. By introducing the new fleeces to all drivers, the company could save around 350,000 plastic bottles being disposed of in landfill sites*.

This project is the latest in a series of innovative environmental schemes introduced by Stagecoach. The Perth-based transport operator has launched a sustainability strategy and is investing £11 million in a range of measures to meet ambitious environmental targets across all of its businesses. Stagecoach already operates the UK’s first Bio-buses, which run on 100% biofuel, and the company recently launched the UK’s largest investment in green electric-hybrid bus technology.

The new fleece is based on a core fabric of recycled PET polyester, a type of plastic that is used as a raw material for making packaging materials such as bottles and containers, and is one of the most common consumer plastics used. In the UK alone, an estimated 13 billion plastic bottles are disposed of each year, and the plastic can take up to 400 years to break down in landfill sites. Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, Les Warneford, said: “Sustainability is at the heart of our business. As well as working hard to attract more people out of their cars and on to our greener, smarter bus services, we also have a responsibility to become a greener business ourselves.

“This project is a great example of the benefits of recycling and we look forward to rolling this out to all of our UK Bus drivers.”

Incorporatewear supplies corporate clothing for 14,000 Stagecoach employees, believes sustainability will become a more important force in work wear. It has, in the past, developed new garment innovations including buttons from seedpods, recycled polyester linings and bamboo charcoal fabric technology.

Earlier this year, Stagecoach Group was awarded the prestigious Carbon Trust Standard after taking action on climate change by measuring and reducing its carbon emissions.

Stagecoach is the first Scottish-based transport group – and one of only two listed UK public transport operators – to have achieved the stretching carbon reduction benchmark.

Ends For further Media Information CONTACT Duncan Hopwood at hopwood public relations On 0116 254 4472 Email duncan@hopwood.co.uk

Notes to Editors: *Statistics from EXCELASSOC CO., LTD.

Stagecoach Group Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The company employs 30,000 people, and operates bus, coach, rail, and tram services.
POST: 2024-11-25