Give uniforms a second chance

Many uniforms worn by college students during military training are discarded after being used for the two-week compulsory training program. This is a huge waste given that a large number of students enter college each year in China. It's time colleges made better use of these uniforms, says an article on guancha.gmw.cn. Excerpts:

Chinese colleges admit about 7 million students each year, who spend more than $100 million on their uniforms for military drills which they use for just a fortnight.

A recent survey conducted by Beijing News revealed that most of the uniforms end up in the garbage after two weeks. This is a huge waste of resources in a country where about one in every six people survives on less than $1.25 a day, the poverty line set by the World Bank.

The uniforms, made from strong fabric, can at least be used as sturdy suits for migrant workers and farmers. Or, colleges can donate the uniforms to charity. In fact, last year 22 universities in Beijing donated 12,000 such uniforms to be distributed among people in the less-developed regions of the country.

Perhaps colleges should buy the uniforms and rent them out to students for the military training. But since the military drill is a compulsory program that students have to take part in, the charges for using the uniforms should be relatively low so that it doesn't add to financial burden of students from poor families.