At Banana Moon, we pride ourselves on offering an unparalleled range of unique processes and services that elevate your custom clothing and merchandise to the next level. Our expertise and creativity allow us to bring your vision to life with precision and style.
Whether you're starting a new clothing line, planning merch for your brand, or just unsure how your logo will look on fabric, we’re here to help. Our creative support team offers help at every stage, from artwork prep to garment mockups, ensuring your final product looks just as good in real life as it does in your head.
Established in 1993, we're a family company that has grown from a lifestyle craft business to an agile, responsible and visionary personalised clothing supplier operating from a 10,000 sq. ft purpose-built facility in Yorkshire, UK.
We are so pleased to announce that Banana Moon has been B-Corp certified! This certification acknowledges our continued commitment to people and our planet and we feel extremely happy and proud to achieve B-Corp certification after years of hard work.
Looking to create a fantastic leavers’ hoodie for the class of 2026? Don't forget to make the best sustainable choices along the way. After all, a leavers’ hoodie is more than a comfy garment with a great-looking print; it's a lifelong keepsake full of treasured memories.
As a B-Corp, we're fiercely passionate about the environment. If you are too, this guide to sustainable UK leavers’ hoodies is for you!
We've also got an Ultimate Guide to Leavers’ Hoodies, covering everything from colours and designs to fulfilment stores and ordering processes.
As teachers and education professionals, you likely feel a lot of pressure to set a positive example for your students. By creating eco-friendly leavers’ merchandise and explaining to your pupils why the materials and production methods you’ve chosen are kinder to the environment, you set an amazing example of eco-consciousness. This is especially beneficial if your school’s ESG goals include building sustainability into the school curriculum.
Choosing an eco-friendly leavers’ hoodie is also a fantastic choice if sustainable procurement is an ESG goal for your school. For schools involved in the Eco Schools Program or the Green Schools Project, ensuring that you make sustainable choices with your leavers' hoodie also makes it a much more meaningful memento for your students, as it aligns with your school values and allows students to take a symbol of those principles with them to their next step in life.
One of the most important parts of creating a sustainable leavers’ hoodie is ensuring the chosen fabric is durable enough to make a lifelong keepsake. For this, we recommend sturdy materials like ringspun cotton or cotton-polyester blends. To take your dedication to sustainability even further, opt for organic or regenerated cotton and recycled polyester.
Organic cotton is grown without the aid of chemicals. This keeps the soil healthy, reduces energy use in production, and keeps the water system around the cotton crop cleaner and healthier. Organic cotton also produces seeds for future crops, making it a more renewable resource.
Another amazing option is regenerated cotton. This is made from reprocessed waste yarn, creating an incredible circular product that saves water, reduces waste, and cuts down on chemicals.
Polyester is a fantastic material to add to cotton to improve its durability, so it lasts even longer. Recycled polyester has an extra benefit, too. As it’s made from recycled plastic bottles, it reduces plastic waste in landfills and oceans.
See our eco-friendly fabrics page for more information.
Perhaps the most important part of a leavers’ hoodie is the personalised design. Choosing the right method to apply your chosen design also affects the overall sustainability of the clothing.
One way to add a custom design to a hoodie is through embroidery. By choosing threads made from recycled material, you can easily make your embroidered leavers’ hoodies more sustainable. At Banana Moon, we use POLYNEON GREEN recycled polyester threads made from recycled bottles. We also recycle the bobbins that our threads come wrapped around.
However, embroidery isn’t always the best option for leavers’ hoodies, as large-format embroidery designs can be costly for bulk orders. For this reason, most schools choose print options for their hoodies. Luckily, there are sustainable ways of printing on leavers’ hoodies, too.
One popular printing method for sustainable custom clothes is Direct-to-Garment printing, which uses minimal water and produces no waste. This method can be made more environmentally friendly by using non-hazardous, toxin-free inks.
Another great option is Direct-to-Film printing, a low-waste, water-minimal alternative to traditional vinyl printing that offers a more durable, long-lasting result.
However, the most popular choice when bulk ordering leavers’ hoodies for large classes or year groups is screen printing, thanks to its ability to print the same quality design on multiple pieces at speed.
This process can use large amounts of plastic and water, but we use several methods to reduce them. For example, our direct-to-screen process eliminates the need for plastic proofs, while an automated screen washer reuses cleaning water and chemicals, reducing water waste. We also use PVC-free water-based inks where possible.
While leavers' hoodies are a classic choice, there are plenty of other options when it comes to parting gifts for your students.
Practical items that can be used in everyday life are a great eco option. Add your leavers’ print to a tote bag as a handy accessory that will help your students (or their parents) cut down on plastic bag use. Create a pencil case with a custom leavers’ design for a piece of leavers' merch that will come in handy for your students for years to come. Or emblazon students' names or signatures on a tea towel for a useful piece of personalised homeware.
Another eco option is to make a bag or teddy from recycled school uniform scraps, preventing old uniforms from ending up in a landfill or on a bonfire. Banana Moon school uniforms are made to last, so the fabrics can be easily reused in new, creative ways once they’ve been outgrown.
Take a look at our unique leavers' merch options if you want to try something a little different to the classic hoodie this year.
One of the easiest ways to ensure your leavers’ hoodie is eco-friendly is to work with an environmentally-conscious supplier.
At Banana Moon, we’re proud to be a B-Corp, a testament to our high standards of social and environmental performance. This is thanks to initiatives such as our carbon footprint offsetting through OneTribe, our production waste initiative and our recycling scheme.
Ready to create a leavers’ hoodie that creates the eco values of your school? Contact us today to discuss further, or start browsing our leavers' hoodie range.
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Unbranded pouches offer a refined look and are easily recyclable at home. Perfect for a sustainable, customer-friendly solution.
Tissue-wrapped for a thoughtful touch. Ideal for personal gifting or presenting to individual team members.
