The Wrinkled Runner
The Wrinkled Runner
Giving Running Shoes a Final Kick: How Jog On and Sneaker Impact are Making a Difference
How much impact do your old running shoes have on the planet? Tune in to hear the statistics behind running shoe waste and discover how you can make a difference. Join us as we highlight Jog On and Sneaker Impact, two pioneering organizations that are transforming the way we think about shoe disposal. You’ll learn how Jog On Again extends the life of running shoes by donating them to those in need and responsibly recycling them, while Sneaker Impact uses groundbreaking technology to repurpose worn-out sneakers into new products, fostering a circular economy.
Resources from the Episode:
From The Wrinkled Runner-
Blog: Jog On and Sneaker Impact: A Shared Mission to Reduce Waste
Podcast: When to Replace Running Shoes
From Other Sources-
Jog On- To donate in the UK
Sneaker Impact- To donate in the US
Sneaker Impact AI Technology Video
The Boston Run Show
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As an ambassador for the Boston Run Show, I'm introduced to some really cool running resources and companies that I wasn't aware of before attending that conference. This show gets bigger every year, so you can go to the show notes and find out more about that if you're interested in attending in 2025. Des Linden is one of the speakers, so it's going to be the best one yet. Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter to get access to free tickets when registration opens in September. Jog On Again was one of the companies that attended in 2023. They were collecting used running shoes and they filled quite a big bin over the course of the show's weekend been over the course of the show's weekend so I looked into what they were doing and found out that 18 billion running shoes are sold worldwide over the course of a year, which means that 33 million pairs end up in landfills annually, which is crazy. That it can take up to a thousand years to degrade and, of course, as runners, a lot of times we go through maybe four or five pairs a year, so runners are contributing to a lot of landfill when we're continually doing that. If we're not responsibly getting rid of those shoes Now here in the US, sneaker impact is also doing the same thing. So I'm going to talk about both companies and what they're trying to do, and then ways that you can get them your old shoes if you're interested in having them take care of that for you. So a jog on again is actively collecting running shoes from individuals and from organizations. Then they sort through them all and then shoes that have significant life left in them are earmarked for donation to those in need. So if you've been running for a while, you know that, generally speaking, usually shoes are used for between 300 and 500 miles for a lot of us, and if you do any kind of a distance race or you're running a lot of miles every week, you can get through that pretty fast. So for a lot of these shoes, there's only 300 miles, 500 miles on them, and so for people who are not as fortunate as us to be able to buy these shoes, there is still significant life in them to be able to wear them as footwear. So donating them not only reduces waste but also promotes accessibility to quality footwear for runners and for others who may not have the means to purchase new shoes, for shoes that have reached the end of their usable lifespan.
Speaker 1:Dog On Again ensures that they are disposed of responsibly. This means finding innovative ways to recycle or repurpose materials, and then even discarded shoes don't contribute to the global landfill. Sneaker Impact takes the sneakers that can't be reused and a partner company then grinds them up. They then send the ground-up material through through a machine and, through AI, this machine has the capability to separate them into different materials. So then these materials are used in different ways to craft new products, and in the show notes, I'll link you to a video that actually shows you the process that these shoes go through to separate this into different materials. The sneakers that are able to be reused are offered at a fraction of the cost to small businesses in communities around the world that can revive them and then resell them at affordable prices, which provides local people a way to make money in their own business. By extending the lifespan of used shoes through donation and responsible disposal practices, these companies not only reduce waste, but also promote a circular economy within the running community, and when you know about stuff like this, it can inspire you then to donate those used shoes instead of keeping 24 pairs of them.
Speaker 1:So what I've been doing is, instead of keeping all of my shoes. I keep the last pair that I was running in for, kind of like just knocking around or as gym shoes or whatever, and then I have my new pair and then donate. You know what was my running shoes like two shoes ago? So I've started to gather those shoes and once I've accumulated enough pairs I'm going to send them off to donation. So if you'd like to learn more, head to the show notes for links to the websites To donate.
Speaker 1:In the UK, you can go to the website johnonagaincom and there's a link to a postal label that you can print out.
Speaker 1:You can send up to 40 pairs of shoes for only two pounds.
Speaker 1:So if you're part of a running club or park run or something like that, with the ability to donate up to 40 pairs at a time, you could head up a donation drive and have a bunch of people bring their used shoes in and get to that 40 pairs.
Speaker 1:In the US, you can go to the Sneaker Impact website and then they will give you the option of getting a prepaid label for up to seven pairs of sneakers. So that's the option that I'm going to be doing in sending mine and my husband's If you're a business that's interested in collecting more than that. There's an option to gather more information about that too. For those of you in the US Finding ways to help others and the earth at the same time, these two companies are making a difference, and if you know of other organizations that are having an impact on sustainability within the running world, please send me an email or use the fan mail button on the show notes page and I may do a podcast episode on it to pass along the information so that we can all help in this process of helping people and helping the world.