My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions
1
First Name
Last Name
Pronouns
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Initiative Title
Clean Kicks London
Lead Organization Name
Rio Ferdinand Foundation
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
2012
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
https://www.linkedin.com/company/rio-ferdinand-foundation/posts/?feedView=all, https://x.com/riofoundation, https://www.instagram.com/rioferdinandfoundation, https://www.facebook.com/RioFoundation
Initiative Stage
Growth (You’ve moved past the very first activities; working towards the next level of expansion.)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
Clean Kicks London transforms discarded footwear into a youth-led platform for climate action, skills development, and enterprise, empowering Young People as Changemakers while driving partnerships and systemic change across sport, communities, and industry through the promotion of a 'Clean Kicks' Charter.
Challenge Focus: What topic does your initiative most directly relate to?
Climate action through awareness and engagement
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
Young People — particularly those facing financial pressure, anxiety, exclusion from mainstream education or limited access to opportunity — often feel disconnected from pathways into employment, creativity and climate action. At the same time, the UK discards millions of pairs of trainers every year, contributing to fast-fashion waste, carbon emissions and environmental harm. In many communities we work with, Young People lack accessible, hands-on entry points to engage in environmental sustainability that feels relevant to their lives. Trainers hold strong cultural significance, representing identity, status and aspiration, shaped in part by sportswear brands whose advertising frequently targets Young People and drives demand for new products. For many from low-income households, the pressure to own the ‘right’ or latest trainers is intense. When this isn’t possible, it can impact confidence, belonging and wellbeing. Responsibility for this waste sits disproportionately with consumers, while brands rarely provide accessible pathways for reuse or accountability. Clean Kicks responds to this intersection of social inequity and environmental waste. By grounding climate education in something familiar and meaningful — footwear — we create a pathway that is tangible, relevant and rooted in lived experience, accessible to those closest to both the problem and the solution.
Your approach: How are you addressing the problem outlined above? How are you using the power of sport and physical activity to build awareness, shift behavior, and enable sustainable participation for all in response to the climate crisis? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
Clean Kicks uses creativity, culture and hands-on making to build climate awareness and behaviour change among Young People. Through footwear upcycling, participants clean, customise, repair and reimagine used trainers that would otherwise go to landfill. This practical process turns abstract climate concepts into visible and personal action. Our approach blends youth work, arts, design, entrepreneurship and environmental education. With support from Youth Workers, Designers and industry Professionals, Young People gain accredited qualifications, develop business and marketing skills, and build confidence to turn creative work into potential income or enterprise. They learn to price, promote and sell products, connecting climate action with real economic opportunity. The idea originated from recognising how strongly footwear culture resonates with Young People, and how the trainer market creates vast waste streams. The “aha moment” came when we saw how a single donated pair could become a creative canvas, a tool for learning, and a route to financial empowerment. Our model includes both small‑group workshops and tailored 1:1 delivery for Young People experiencing anxiety or complex challenges — ensuring access for those who need a different pace or environment. Alongside delivery, Clean Kicks is promoting the idea of a 'Clean Kicks' Charter — a structured commitment framework for brands and partners. This will encourage redistribution of surplus or defective stock, investment in youth opportunity pathways through their CSR (internships, careers exposure etc ), and stronger environmental and ethical corporate responsibility. Through this, Clean Kicks operates not only as a programme, but as a platform influencing behaviour across the value chain.
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
Young People co‑create every aspect of Clean Kicks. From the design of sessions to the styles they want to explore and the sustainability messages they feel matter, their voices define the initiative. We begin each cohort with listening sessions to understand pressures they face — financial, social, environmental — and build the programme around their needs. Participants choose the footwear they want to upcycle, the creative techniques they explore, and the stories they want their products to tell. They also help shape workshop rules, pacing, and delivery formats. In some boroughs, young people have led local pop‑up exhibitions and market stalls, acting as peer educators to other youth groups. We also engage families and community partners by inviting them to share unused footwear, attend showcases, and celebrate the achievements of participants. Some Young People help record content for social media, providing peer‑to‑peer climate messaging that feels authentic and accessible. For those facing anxiety or additional needs, we offer 1:1 sessions shaped entirely around the young person’s preferred learning environment. This ensures that no one is excluded due to barriers beyond their control. Young People are the voices driving change and are leading advocates for the Clean Kicks model. At the most basic level, their role as changemakers involves breaking down the initial stigma of reusing second-hand footwear among their peers—one of the hardest barriers to overcome. At its most ambitious, their role extends to potentially lobbying for change through the Clean Kicks Charter, engaging policymakers and brands to influence systemic shifts Clean Kicks is not delivered to Young People — it is built with them.
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in raising climate awareness, shifting behaviors, or reducing environmental impact or harm? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had¡, and/or what impact do you envision having in the future?
Clean Kicks delivers impact across environmental, social and economic outcomes. Environmentally, each pair of trainers restored or reimagined is diverted from landfill, reducing waste, lowering carbon impact and extending the lifecycle of materials. Socially, Young People build confidence, resilience and a sense of purpose, while developing practical creative, employability and enterprise skills. Economically, participants begin generating income through selling upcycled products, helping to ease financial pressure and reinvest in materials, tools and future opportunities. Our pilot has demonstrated clear and meaningful outcomes. Young People report increased confidence, improved mental wellbeing and stronger engagement in positive activities. Participants have designed, produced and sold their own products, with some earning independent income for the first time. Families have benefited from access to refurbished footwear. We have also seen clear behaviour change, with Young People showing increased awareness of environmental issues, a stronger understanding of waste and consumption, and a growing sense of agency Clean Kicks grounds climate education in something culturally relevant — footwear — making sustainability tangible, accessible and rooted in lived experience. This shifts climate action from abstract to practical, enabling young people to see their role in driving change within their communities. As we scale, we will significantly expand this impact: diverting thousands of pairs of trainers annually, supporting more young people into enterprise and employment pathways, and building a youth-led sustainability movement that challenges waste culture. Clean Kicks demonstrates that small, practical interventions can drive lasting change.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
Clean Kicks, which is the brainchild of one of our lead Youth Workers engaging with young people on the ground, is innovative because it uses something universally understood and valued by young people — trainers — as an entry point into climate action, skill-building and enterprise. While many environmental programmes focus on policy or awareness, Clean Kicks offers hands-on circular economy learning that feels accessible, aspirational and culturally relevant. Our model merges creativity, youth work, sustainability and micro-enterprise in a way that is rare in the UK. Instead of teaching climate action through lectures or campaigns, we turn waste into opportunity and place young people as creators, designers, and entrepreneurs. The initiative is also innovative in its long-term approach. Participants keep all tools and materials, and receive up to 12 months of mentoring — ensuring that skills turn into sustainable outcomes, not one-off experiences. Our 1:1 model for those with anxiety or complex needs is another unique aspect, ensuring that climate education and opportunity are accessible to all. By shifting perceptions of value — showing that worn-out footwear can become art, business, or income — Clean Kicks also challenges norms around consumerism and fast fashion. We meet Young People where they are culturally, and support them to reshape their futures and their relationship with the environment.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
- Rio Ferdinand Foundation: Overall programme management, youth worker delivery, safeguarding, partnership coordination, monitoring and evaluation. - Creative Practitioners Artists, Designers, Photographers): Lead technical upcycling workshops, creative skill‑building, styling and photography skills. - Business & Enterprise Mentors: Support pricing, marketing, storytelling, sales readiness, and ongoing mentoring. - Community Partners e.g Foundations of Football Club Community programmes, eg Millwall Community Trust and Harris Federation Secondary Schools in London : Provide space, referrals, local support and access to young people most affected by exclusion or financial pressure. - Sports/Fashion Brand Partners: Donate footwear stock (surplus, returns, imperfect items), materials, or tools; provide brand‑led inspiration and amplification opportunities.
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your organization up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
Clean Kicks is designed for sustainable growth, and through our pilot delivery we have already demonstrated a clear demand, strong engagement from young people and partners, and a model that can be effectively replicated. Our approach is modular, low-cost and easily scalable across new boroughs, using local spaces, donated footwear and trained youth workers. Operational sustainability will be driven through a diversified income model, combining brand partnerships, philanthropic funding and earned income through youth-led product sales and showcases. Donated footwear significantly reduces material costs, while each cohort retains its own tools — ensuring ongoing delivery with minimal long-term overhead. Over the next 24 months, as we scale the programme, our plan is to: - Engage 120-200+ young people annually - Train 25 youth workers and artists in the Clean Kicks methodology - Establish delivery across partnerships in at least five London boroughs - Divert 1,500-2000 + pairs of footwear from landfill each year - Secure long-term stock donation partnerships with major sports and fashion brands - Develop a digital platform to showcase youth-created products RFF Social media platforms Support through this challenge will enable us to build on a proven model, reach more young people, reduce waste at scale and expand our impact within the circular economy.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/ to grow.
Key Milestones over the 24 months: Q1: Secure borough partnerships and confirm delivery sites. Q2: Recruit young participants, expand donated footwear supply chain, train additional Youth Workers. Q3: Deliver programme to first London cohorts; host community showcases. Q4: Launch youth-led online marketplace for upcycled products; evaluate impact; plan expansion. Q5: Recruitment and Delivery Q6:Recruitment and DeliveryQ7: Q8: Reflection/Formal Evaluation
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding: If you were to make it as a finalist, you will be required to participate in an 8-week capacity building programme. If funding/ cost is a barrier to your participation, we may be able to offer up to 10,000 GBP of grant money available to support you. Please break down below, if it is the case, what costs you would incur and you would need covered. (Please note that there are restrictions on how the grant money may be used; please refer to the T&Cs for further details (LINK).
Our request to Go-London for our Clean Kicks programme is based on a contribution of £87,050 over 24 months to fund: - Salaries: Project Coordinator, Youth Worker support and Freelance Artist - Direct project costs: Venue hire, equipment, travel, refreshments, marketing and promotion - Evaluation and Learning: HACT Social Value calculator and accreditation/certification for Level 1 Leadership qualifications - Communications, Storytelling and Community Engagement: Branding, Filming and content creation eg You Tube shorts, Instagram and Tik Tok - Safeguarding, Health & Safety Compliance and Management costs at 15%
Now that you've explored what it truly means to put young people at the centre, how are you designing your initiative so that young people are genuine co-leaders and co-creators of the initiative?
Clean Kicks has been shaped with Young People from the very beginning and continues to evolve through their ideas, interests and leadership. The original concept emerged through youth work practice and recognising the strong connection many young people have with trainers, football culture and fashion. We saw an opportunity to turn something often associated with waste and overconsumption into a creative tool for sustainability, self-expression, and enterprise. The project has grown directly in response to young people’s enthusiasm, feedback and creativity. Young People help shape the delivery, including workshop themes, creative direction, session environments and the types of products they design and produce. Their feedback influences how sessions are structured, what skills are explored and how the project develops over time. Our approach is rooted in empowerment, agency and ownership. Rather than simply participating, young people are supported to become creators, decision-makers and entrepreneurs. Clean Kicks encourages them to take control of their own ideas and futures — developing products, building brands, selling their work and leading peer conversations around sustainability and creativity. Environmental sustainability can often feel distant or inaccessible for Young People from working-class communities. Clean Kicks makes climate action tangible and personal. By rescuing and reimagining trainers that would otherwise go to landfill, Young People can see the direct impact of their actions. This creates a mindset shift: helping Young People recognise that they can influence change within their communities, industries and culture. Through this process, they build confidence, leadership skills and a stronger sense of responsibility towards both their future and the environment. In their capacity as change makers. The Rio Ferdinand Foundation will use its communications platforms, including YouTube , Instagram and Tik Tok storytelling, to amplify the voices and creativity of young people involved in Clean Kicks. Through youth-led content, participants will document their journeys from restoring footwear to showcasing their work, positioning them as advocates for sustainability. This approach extends impact beyond direct participants, supporting the development of Clean Kicks 'Change-makers' who their influence peers, lead local conversations, and promote more sustainable behaviours within their communities, commerce and broader society.
What partnerships and collaborations are most critical to delivering and sustaining your initiative and how are you building/ plan to build them?
Collaboration and partnership working are central to both the delivery and long-term sustainability of Clean Kicks. We see four key sets of partnerships as critical to the project’s success. Firstly, schools are essential to reaching and engaging young people at scale. We are developing relationships with the Harris Federation, which includes 34 schools across London and has a strong track record of supporting young people who may otherwise struggle to access enrichment and progression opportunities. Schools provide trusted environments, referral pathways and direct access to young people who would benefit most from the programme. By embedding Clean Kicks within school and community settings, we can ensure participation is accessible, consistent and inclusive. Secondly, football club community organisations represent a major opportunity to connect sport, culture and climate action. Through our existing relationships with Premier League and EFL club community organisations across London and the UK we have begun piloting elements of our train-the-trainer and delivery model with Young People engaged in community programmes. Early engagement has generated significant excitement and demonstrated the potential for football-led climate engagement. We believe the football community has enormous untapped influence in shaping sustainable behaviours, particularly among Young People who strongly identify with sport and trainer culture. Thirdly, partnerships with brands are critical to both sustainability and reach. Through the Rio Ferdinand Foundation’s profile and networks, we have successfully engaged New Balance, one of the world’s leading sportswear brands and a company recognised for its commitment to ethical and environmental standards. We see significant potential to deepen this partnership through footwear donations, collaborative campaigns and wider promotion of environmental sustainability messages through their communications platforms. Partnerships with brands help connect young people to industry, while also demonstrating how large organisations can support circular economy approaches and youth-led climate action. Finally, Alongside these core partnerships, we also recognise the importance of collaboration with wider civil society in the form of local authorities, media organisations and environmental sustainability groups etc. These relationships will help strengthen local delivery, amplify Young People’s voices and increase wider awareness of sustainable behaviours and climate action within communities. We would love the opportunity of working more closely with the Greater London Authority as the sponsor of our project to help influence policy on a much wider scale.
What are you measuring, how are you measuring it, and what does the data tell you so far (quantitative and qualitative)?
We are measuring both environmental and youth development outcomes, recognising that Clean Kicks is designed to create behaviour change, build skills and improve Young People’s confidence and progression opportunities through climate-focused activity. Quantitatively, we will track participation, attendance and retention, alongside the number of trainers diverted from landfill and repurposed through workshops. We will also monitor accredited outcomes, progression into volunteering, enterprise or further training, and the number of Young People who go on to sell or showcase their work. As the programme develops, we also aim to measure wider engagement through social media reach, peer-led activity and community events linked to sustainability awareness. The core quantitative metrics we have identified include: - 120-200 Young People engaged, with 90- retained across the programme - 1,500- 2000 pairs of trainers collected and repurposed, diverting waste from landfill - 100 young people of gaining an accredited qualification, eg OCN level 1 in Leadership Qualitatively, we place strong emphasis on youth voice and reflective learning. We will use pre- and post-programme questionnaires, group discussions, creative reflection activities and staff observations to understand changes in confidence, wellbeing, attitudes towards sustainability and sense of agency. We will also capture case studies and personal stories to understand the deeper impact the project has on Young People’s aspirations and behaviours. The core qualitative metrics we have identified include: 90 % % of participants reporting increased confidence, wellbeing and self-efficacy 90% participants generating income through sales 90% increase in climate literacy, measured through pre/post programme evaluation Early learning from pilot activity has shown particularly strong engagement from Young People who would not typically engage in environmental programmes. The practical and culturally relevant nature of the project helps make climate action feel accessible and meaningful. Young people have spoken positively about the sense of achievement that comes from transforming unwanted footwear into something valuable, while also gaining creative, business and leadership skills. We have also seen increased confidence, stronger peer connections and growing interest in sustainable fashion, entrepreneurship and community action. Complementing this, the Foundation utilises the HACT social value tool across its programmes to quantify and demonstrate impact. Indicative modelling of our pilot programme shows that an investment of £10,000 supporting 15 participants can generate £468,218 in social value (SROI £1: £46.82), evidencing the broader environmental and social return created through our work. Together, these approaches ensure the Foundation not only prioritises environmental sustainability in its delivery, but can robustly measure, evidence and communicate its impact to stakeholders and funders.
Long-term impact: what lasting systems change are you seeking to create and how will you know when it has happened?
The long-term change we are seeking through Clean Kicks is both cultural and systemic. At its core, the project aims to shift how young people, schools, sports organisations and brands engage with sustainability — moving climate action from something abstract and inaccessible to something creative, practical and embedded within everyday culture. We believe there is significant potential to influence wider conversations around fast fashion, waste and environmental education, particularly through the reach of football, sport and youth culture. By combining grassroots engagement, trusted youth work, football community partnerships and the voice of Young People themselves, we aim to demonstrate that Young People from working-class communities are not only willing to engage with sustainability but can become leaders and advocates within it when approached in a culturally relevant way. A key part of our long-term vision is the development of a ‘Clean Kicks Charter’ which was conceived directly as a result of engagement in the Ashoka capacity building process— an ethical framework and pledge that encourages sportswear and fashion brands to commit to more responsible redistribution, reuse and community-based sustainability practices. Inspired by models such as the London Living Wage campaign, the Charter would recognise organisations that actively support circular economy approaches, including donating surplus or imperfect stock for community reuse, and investing in local youth & community programmes as part of their CSR programmes. Shining a light on impact of and opportunity to change fast fashion. Over time, we would hope to see this develop into a wider movement encouraging greater transparency, stronger environmental responsibility and more ethical production practices across the sportswear and fashion sectors. This could include conversations around waste reduction, sustainable materials, supply chain transparency and fairer working conditions for people who are ultimately employed on production lines. We will know this change is beginning to happen when sustainability becomes more visible within youth and sporting spaces, when young people begin leading climate conversations within their own communities, and when schools, football organisations and brands actively embed circular economy principles into their practice. Success would also look like long-term partnerships with industry in the form of adoption of our Clean Kicks Charter and increased recognition of youth-led climate action as a credible and important driver of systems change.
Is there anything else you'd like to share with us that you were not able to share in previous questions?
As a player foundation, the Rio Ferdinand Foundation is uniquely positioned within the worlds of football, youth culture and media. Rio Ferdinand’s personal journey — as a young Black Man, growing up in Peckham, becoming England captain and leading Manchester United during one of the club’s most successful eras — gives the Foundation both credibility and reach with young people and the wider football community. Beyond football, Rio is now an established broadcaster and media figure with significant influence across sport and popular culture, including upcoming coverage of major international tournaments such as the World Cup. Importantly, he understands the potential of football and youth culture to influence wider social issues and has previously supported environmental and sustainability-focused campaigns. We have discussed the Clean Kicks concept with Rio directly, and he is genuinely excited by its potential to connect climate action with Young People in a way that feels authentic, creative and culturally relevant. While the project is designed to be sustainable beyond any individual profile, Rio’s support provides an important opportunity to amplify young people’s voices, engage wider audiences and open conversations with brands, clubs and media platforms that may otherwise be difficult to access. Ultimately, we believe the combination of trusted youth work, football culture, creativity and sustainability gives Clean Kicks a unique ability to engage Young People who are often excluded from traditional environmental conversations. The project creates a bridge between sport, identity, enterprise and climate action — helping young people see themselves not only as participants, but as future leaders and Changemakers within their communities.
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We’re excited about this opportunity because we know it works and it speaks directly to the heart of why we exist. As Rio Ferdinand, our Founder says, “My first pair of football boots were second-hand and too big, but I wouldn’t have been able to start playing football when I did without them. More needs to be done to make kit accessible for young people.” That lived experience underpins the spirit of Clean Kicks — turning something as simple as a donated pair of trainers into access, confidence, creativity and possibility. This opportunity allows us to scale that impact, reach more young people who are being overlooked, and remove barriers in a way that aligns perfectly with our mission and values.
