Running Industry Alliance (RIA) announced its support of Alliance Partner JogOn and its UK-wide campaign aimed at removing 1m pairs of running shoes from landfill last November.
A number of member-to-member collaborations have been created over the last months via the RIA business community in support of the campaign, and with RIA as the connector. RIA has been the conduit to support discussions with RIA Members and brands and to increase awareness, having helped to achieve the collection of over 10,000 pairs in just under a year since starting the campaign.
Successful JogOn collaborations with fellow RIA members include:
• SportsShoes.com
• On Running
• Aspire PR
• ALTRA
• HOKA
• Run for All
• COOPAH
• Inov-8
• Limelight Sports
• Race Nation
• Run Legacy
• Sports Insight
• Sporting Insights
• Start Fitness
It is estimated that 33m pairs of running shoes end up in landfill each year, many of which remain usable and could benefit others. 97% of the shoes that JogOn receives are good enough to be re-used and these are sent to charities that service end users, NGO’s who run outreach programs, and micro-economies. Any “end of life” shoes are taken care of through a Waster to Energy partner that incinerates waste to produce electricity as an alternative to landfill.
JogOn’s first partner SportsShoes.com was the catalyst for an incredible national campaign, which today boasts collection partnerships with universities, libraries, schools, running clubs, independent retailers, hotel spas and over 200 leisure centres. A partnership with the Courier Evri means that members of the public can send in their shoes from anywhere in the UK for a set fee of £2.00 (for up to 15kgs of shoes, which equates to about 35 pairs) to JogOn’s HQ in West Sussex, where they are sorted and boxed.
JogOn collection points also featured at The Running Conference last December, where attendees could donate any unwanted trainers and which saw On contribute with a large number of samples.
Furthermore JogOn announced a partnership with Start Fitness earlier this month, with a shoe donation box in their Newcastle city centre store where customers can give their shoes a second chance whenever they visit the store.
Co-Leads Rebecca Richardson and Jonathan Midwood from RIA said: “We are happy to see such a large number of successful collaborations between JogOn and other RIA Members, having contributed to increased awareness and visibility of the campaign across channels as part of RIA’s sustainability focus.
“The running industry has given incredible support to JogOn and its UK-wide campaign to remove 1 million pairs of running shoes from landfill, and we are proud that Running Industry Alliance has been the connector in bringing people and businesses together and contributing to impactful happenings.”
Tony Piedade, Founder & CEO of JoggingBuddy.com and JogOn said: “Joining Running Industry Alliance last year was a fantastic decision which has led to increased visibility and exposure for JogOn in the wider running community, both through the RIA business community and The Running Conference. We have met some amazing people who share our ethos and values, and together we are working on removing 1m pairs of running shoes from any landfill and on raising further awareness about running shoes being given a second chance and being re-purposed.”
Running Industry Alliance (RIA) is an independent National Trade Organisation built for the UK & Ireland Running Industry with the aim to collectively help its Members to drive the Running Industry forward to improve the Sport and Business of Running.
The Running Conference 2023 #TRC23 will take place from 10th to 12th December 2023 at Loughborough University.
RIA membership applications are open throughout the year, and anyone wanting to be at The Running Conference 2023 should complete the application form or contact [email protected] to join RIA.
RIA Members and Alliance Partners can be viewed here: http://www.runningindustryalliance.com/foundation-members/
For further details about Running Industry Alliance, membership and all other info please go to http://www.runningindustryalliance.com and follow the LinkedIn open company page.
