Charity Dulcie’s Bus to visit schools selling second-hand formal dresses for as little as $30

A school formal dress for as little as $30? Check. How about a graduation outfit? Too easy. It’s the scheme designed to help save our environment, and help a lot of people along the way.

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Girls can browse and buy second-hand formal dresses at school for as little as $30 under an Adelaide scheme to help save the environment from the scourge of the “fast fashion” industry.

A St John’s Grammar student environment group has teamed with homelessness charity Dulcie’s Bus, which deals in recycled clothing.

Together they’ve launched a push for schools across Adelaide to embrace second-hand outfits for formals and graduations.

They point to statistics such as the fashion industry being responsible for 10 per cent of global carbon emissions, and the vast majority of the 27kg of garments and shoes the average Aussie buys each year ending up in landfill, often after just a few wears.

St John's Grammar year 11 students Patrick Douglas, Will Ravenscroft, Fiona Gregory and Chloe Noyes.

St John’s, at Belair, was the first school Dulcie’s Bus rolled into last week, offering dresses priced as low as $30 and nothing over $100.

“All these students buy a dress for one day and never wear it again … it’s a big expense on the environment,” said Year 11 student Lily Biggins Baker, who leads the environment group.

Dulcie’s Bus will next visit Emmaus Christian College but manager Emma Grierson said it’s not just about private schools.

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She has met with Education Department officials and said they were very positive about public schools getting on board too.

“We’d love to be travelling around Adelaide and visiting as many schools as will have us,” she said.

“We’ve got a lot of beautiful vintage clothing as well as some modern pieces. Some of them are beautiful raw silk 1960s gowns.”

The charity, which raises money for the Hutt St Centre and Centacare, is also planning to revisit schools to run a buyback scheme, so the recycling can continue.

While boys commonly hire their suits, Dulcie’s Bus also has some “interesting” options for those willing to be adventurous.