GoodHeart | UniCycle’s 8th year back-to-school drive under way
Published:Saturday | August 9, 2025 | 12:07 AM
UniCycle Jamaica, the student-led textile recycling initiative focused on back-to-school support, has once again launched its annual summer drive. This campaign aims to collect and redistribute gently used school uniforms, PE gear, and— in partnership with its sister initiative, Come Mek Wi Dance — dancewear, to support dance and dance therapy programmes in schools across the island.
Last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, the UniCycle Team, led by siblings Rhys and Maria Greenland, also staged fundraising events and an online Amazon wishlist drive that added nearly $300,000 worth of school supplies to the hundreds of uniforms and sports/dancewear items distributed to families in the hardest hit areas by the National Education Trust. “We are in the middle of planning another such event this summer,” Rhys explained.
Donation containers are now out in Fontana Pharmacy locations across the island and at Campion College.
“We appreciate Fontana’s ongoing support and the donations we received from stores like Ammar’s and Joseph’s. We know many schools across the island collect uniforms periodically and distribute,” Maria explained, adding, “We are actually working with the NET on upcycling palettes into containers for Guidance Units to help expand this in an organised, self-sustainable way and encourage the staging of periodic clothing drives during the school year to support families in need.”
Each year, the UniCycle drive is soft launched as part of Campion College’s environmental club, Green Generation’s, staging of its now annual Zero Waste Week.
“Zero waste weeks aim to increase awareness of the circular economy and reduce waste consumption,” Rhys, a former Green Generation president, explained. Activities like Meatless Monday where we share vegetarian recipes; Tee-Totes Tuesday, where we upcycle old T-shirts into tote bags without sewing, and Fast Fashion Friday where we launch our UniCycle and Come Mek Wi Dance drives, have become part of the club’s annual calendar.
“We look forward to the day when Jamaica has a national Zero Waste Week and more schools, companies, agencies and organisations are involved,” he said.
Maria chimed in, “And to the day when we see textile recycling containers located in spots across the island much like the Recycling Partners Jamaica ones now are for single use plastic bottles.”
She highlighted the significant environmental impact of the fashion industry, noting its role in generating vast amounts of plastic waste each year. She said, “That’s one of the reasons we started UniCycle and Come Mek Wi Dance. So much of our clothing is made from plastic fibres like polyester, nylon, and acrylic. They shed microplastics during washing and wearing, which can end up in our rivers and oceans. Clothing takes between three months (cotton) to hundreds of years (synthetics) to decompose.”
For more information, you may contact unicyclejamaica@gmail.com or on Instagram @unicyclejamaica and @comemekwidance.