JogOn is a UK-wide campaign dedicated to reducing the number of running shoes that end up in landfill each year. The campaign launched in April 2022 with the goal of preventing 1 million pairs of running shoes from becoming waste.
So far, the campaign has collected approximately 15,000 pairs; and to get closer to its 1 million target the campaign is calling for more support from the running community and industry.
It is estimated that a significant 33 million pairs of running shoes end up in landfill each year in the UK, many of which remain usable and could benefit others. In fact, of the 15,000 pairs of shoes donated so far to JogOn, only 6.9% were at the end of their life.
With a growing number of shoes being collected, JogOn notes that it needs more partners to help with its mission – to spread awareness and reduce millions of pairs of yearly discarded run shoes.
JogOn notes that the average pair of run shoes takes approximately 1,000 years to decompose.
JogOn is committed to raising awareness of the harmful effects of shoes ending up in landfill. It hopes, with more help, that a measurable difference can be made.
JogOn’s process is simple: 97% of the running shoes that it receives are still in good enough condition to be re-used. These shoes are sent to charities that service end users, NGOs who run outreach programmes and micro-economies.
In the UK alone, the work that JogOn does has ensured that schoolchildren can continue doing sport in and out of school because they have footwear.
Any shoes that have reached the end of their life cycle are taken care of through a waste to energy partner, which incinerates the waste to produce electricity as an alternative to landfill.
Current partners include SportsShoes.com, On, Altra, HOKA, Start Fitness and Inov-8. In addition, there are approximately 256 leisure centres across the UK on-board: from leading operators Everyone Active, to Parkwood Leisure and Places Leisure.
JogOn also partners with 17 universities including Birmingham, Hertfordshire, Kings, UCL, and Bristol; as well as running events companies such as Run for All, Race Nation and Run legacy; running coaching company, COOPAH; Iconic Luxury Hotels, libraries, schools, running clubs and more.
Furthermore, JogOn has made donating unwanted shoes an easy process. Partnering with courier firm Evri, members of the public can send in their shoes from anywhere in the UK for a set fee of £2.00 (for up to 15kg of shoes, which equates to about 35 pairs). Shoes are sent to JogOn’s HQ in West Sussex, where they are sorted and boxed.
Companies interested in partnering with JogOn can get in touch via the organisation’s website.
