Ramco, the circular economy and reuse specialists and official reseller of Ministry of Defence (MoD) surplus textiles, has launched Operation Upcycle, a groundbreaking project to transform military textiles into sustainable, contemporary fashion.
In collaboration with the Winchester School of Arts (part of the University of Southampton), His Majesty’s Prison Service, and veterans’ charities; Operation Upcycle will give ex-military garments a new life through education, design, and veteran empowerment.
The programme officially launched on October 13th via the Operation Upcycle website and social media channels, with a collaborative launch event taking place on the 24th October. At the event, fashion students will view original MoD textiles for the first time, meet the Ramco team, and explore how surplus garments will be reimagined into innovative designs.
Why Operation Upcycle?
Every year, thousands of military uniforms are retired due to damage, design updates, or end of service live. Many can’t be resold and end up in waste streams, contributing to the 711,000 tonnes of post-consumer textiles discarded each year in the UK.
Since December 2023, when Ramco began handling surplus textiles for the MoD, it has processed 16,000 tonnes of military textile waste for the Ministry of Defence. About 10% is too damaged to resell — but each piece tells a story of service, heritage, and history.
Operation Upcycle is about giving these uniforms, and those who wore them, a new purpose – whilst backing students, prisoners, veterans and the environment in the process.
Circular economy with social impact
Operation Upcycle delivers on multiple objectives:
Neil Sanderson, Managing Director at Ramco commented: “This project embodies what Ramco stands for – integrity, sustainability, and social responsibility.
“By combining military heritage, student creativity, and veteran empowerment, we’re building a circular economy model that benefits people, the planet, and our Armed Forces community.”
The launch of Operation Upcycle marks the beginning of an exciting journey to create a sustainable model for upcycling military garments. If you share a passion for sustainability, creativity, and supporting the veteran community, enquire about how you can get involved over on the Operation Upcycle website.
Or follow the OpUp socials to keep up to date with progress: