Australian fashion and footwear company Accent Group recycled 69,752 shoes in FY23, with a 'Backroom Blitz' program aimed at upskilling staff on in-store procedures.
The recycled shoes were collected via 303 active collection points in Accent Group-owned stores across The Athlete’s Foot, Hype DC and selected locations in Platypus, The Trybe, Merrell and Glue Store. In partnership with Australian Sporting Goods Association (ASGA) and the support of its TreadLightly program, the shoes were then sorted, broken down and processed.
Reusable components are extracted, including rubber, leather and fibres at the recycling facility, which are then used to manufacture new products such as gym mats, flooring and playgrounds.
According to Accent Group, the 69,752 shoes have an accumulated weight of 34,876 kilograms.
This year, an updated recycling training guide was created and delivered to team members via a learning management system. The training guide focused on the recycling process and what items could be recycled from operations.
Accent Group monitors its recycling training and back-of-house procedures in a program called ‘Backroom Blitz’.
“This activity is set up to occur across all Accent Group stores after key sale periods,” the company confirmed in its FY23 Sustainability Report.
“During the Backroom Blitz, our team members are encouraged to focus on the ‘one percenters’ that make a difference. Key to this is how well the back rooms are set up with recycle collection units and which team members have completed the training.
“We are proud that for the last Backroom Blitz (May 2023) there were 95% of team members who completed the training across Australia and New Zealand.”
Each year, over 25 million pairs of sports shoes are imported into Australia, with only 1% estimated to be recycled. Once they reach landfill, these shoes can then take up to 1000 years to decompose.
Accent Group operates over 800 stores and 35 online platforms across 26 brands.