The Irish Schoolwear Association, representing more than 200 school uniform suppliers and manufacturers nationally, has called on Barnardos to withdraw what it says are misleading claims about the costs of school uniforms.
Barnardos had previously issued its annual survey of parents ahead of the back-to-school period, with a focus on the price of school uniforms.
An ISWA spokesperson commented: “Not one single ISWA member was contacted by Barnardos in the course of their so-called survey. If they had taken the opportunity to pursue proper research instead of merely a cheap headline, they would have found that their figures were false.
“The fact is that even if the prices listed were accurate – and they are not – Barnardos take no account of the durability of uniforms, meaning that not every child buys a uniform every year. Barnardos should have been asked, and we challenge them now to answer, whether any allowance was applied for this basic fact which is understood by parents and suppliers alike.”
