How to Choose Your Leavers Jacket Supplier

What to look for in a leavers jacket supplier

1. Design flexibility and customisation

You want a jacket that looks like your year group, not a catalogue pick with a badge stuck on. Find out whether jackets are made from scratch around your design or decorated onto existing stock. That decides how much say you really get over colours, artwork and decoration.

Ask: Are jackets made from scratch around our design, or decorated onto existing stock? Can we bring our own artwork, including First Nations artwork? What decoration methods and colours are available?

2. Group collaboration and voting on designs

Getting a whole year group to agree on one design can drag on forever without a proper system. Being able to share options and vote in one place gets you to a final design much faster, and keeps the group chat calmer.

Ask: Can the group collaborate on designs and hold a vote?

3. Group ordering and payment

Chasing money and typing out names for a whole year group is nobody's idea of fun. Some suppliers let every student order and pay for their own jacket, with the organiser checking names before anything goes to production. Others leave the organiser collecting cash and managing every order by hand.

Ask: Can students pay directly, with the organiser reviewing names before production? Can you send a sizing kit? What happens if a student needs to change their size or name after ordering?

4. Sustainability and ethical manufacturing

"Eco-friendly" is easy to say, so ask for the detail. Look for recycled content (and whether it's certified), whether jackets are made to order to cut waste, and a written supply-chain policy covering fair pay and safe conditions.

Ask: What percentage of your range uses certified recycled materials? Can you show your ethical supply-chain policy in writing?

5. Lead time and delivery

Made-to-order takes longer than off-the-shelf, and that's a fair trade for a jacket that's properly yours. What matters is an honest timeline, especially in Term 4, when many schools are ordering at once for delivery in Term 1.

Ask: What's a realistic timeline, and how early should we order?

6. Track record, samples and reviews

Don't just take a supplier's word for it. Look for evidence: how long they've been doing this, a physical sample so your committee can check the fabric and finish before committing, and a reference from a recent school customer.

Ask: How long have you been making graduation wear, and how many schools do you work with? Can you send a sample and connect us with a recent customer?

How Reform answers these questions

Reform Clothing is a Melbourne-founded company that designs and makes custom leavers jackets, hoodies and jerseys for Australian schools. We’ve given you the questions to ask any supplier, so it’s only fair we answer them too. Follow the links for the full details.

Reform’s design flexibility and customisation

Every Reform garment is made from scratch around your design, not decorated onto a pre-made blank. Find out more about how Reform customisation works. You can upload your own logo or graphic or add artwork from Reform’s library. First Nations artwork is welcome with written approval from your First Nations community member and, where applicable, your school principal. Decoration options include full embroidery, felt and nylon badges, sublimation and heat transfer printing (see Reform’s application types), with over 200 colours to choose from.

Reform’s group collaboration and voting

Reform’s Design Projects let your group view and compare each other’s designs, add their own and favourite the ones they like. Learn how to save and share designs. When it’s time to decide, the design voting tool lets the group rank their top three designs or vote on individual decorations, and there’s no limit to how many votes you run.

Reform’s group ordering and payment

The organiser shares one link and each student orders and pays Reform directly by card. Or the organiser can pay for the whole order at checkout, and in some cases Reform can offer invoice payment. See all group payment options. After the group order deadline, orders are locked so the organiser (usually a teacher) can review and edit them, including names, before submitting. The minimum order is 10 per design.

For large group orders, Reform can send a sizing kit for your school to keep for 14 days. Students can change their own order until the group order deadline passes or the organiser locks it.

Reform’s sustainability and ethical manufacturing

More than 75% of Reform’s product range now contains fabrics made using recycled materials, from post-consumer plastic and PET bottles, certified by the Global Recycled Standard. Read more about Reform’s approach to sustainability. Every garment is made on demand, only once your design is finalised and your order is confirmed, so waste is kept to a minimum.

Reform expects every supply partner to comply with all applicable laws and uphold safe and ethical working standards. Many of these manufacturing relationships span more than a decade, and independent audits are conducted where appropriate. Read Reform’s social responsibility commitments.

Reform’s lead time and delivery

Reform offers free delivery to a single address in Australia. Delivery generally takes 10 weeks (but may be longer during peak periods) from when your organiser submits the group’s order, not from when each student orders. When you set up the order, your delivery plan shows a group order deadline, a submit deadline and an estimated delivery date, and you can choose delivery after a set date so jackets don’t arrive during the school holidays.

Reform’s track record, samples and reviews

Reform started in a Melbourne garage in 2005 and has been making custom apparel for schools, companies and organisations for two decades. Read more about Reform. Reform’s design team reviews every order before production. To see a sample or speak to a school we’ve worked with, contact our team, or read Reform’s Google reviews.

For more information on how Reform can help with your leavers wear head to our Year 12 leavers page.