THE world’s first dedicated social enterprise sports brand is pouring its profits back into changing the community.
North Yorkshire-based Kick4change puts 50 per cent of the profits made from its junior football boots and equipment back into grassroots sport.
The Northallerton company is the brainchild of Jamie Tosh, who came up with the idea while coaching junior football and established the firm with his friend Simon Brown.
Mr Tosh said: “There were quite a few children but there wasn’t an abundance of equipment available, so the seed of the idea was sown.
“I did a calculation of how much a parent would have to spend to keep their kids in football clothing. It was quite a lot and the money would not be going back into the club.
“So I did research into how you could put a sports brand into a social model.”
The first item to be launched by the fledgling business is a range of football boots, but there are plans to launch branded goalkeeping gloves, shin pads and a team strip.
The company has had financial backing from Keyfund Yorkshire and regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.
Customers can register their childs’ school or sports club when they buy the boots online, so if, for example, all the parents in a school bought boots for their children from the company, half the profits made would go back to that school for sports equipment.
Mr Tosh, who has children aged eight and four, said: “At that age the brand concept is less apparent and it is more of a parenting decision to pick a product.”
The boots are made ethically, although Mr Tosh admitted finding a company to meet the standards he wanted was the biggest challenge.
He said: “What we didn’t want to do was design the boots and come under scrutiny as to how they were manufactured.”
Kick4change is a Community Interest Company, which means it has to pass a regulators test to show that it is being run for community benefit and not just for private advantage.
Mr Tosh said: “It is a source of sustainable funding for grassroots sport which is crying out for money. People sell raffle tickets to raise money, this is a way parents can help sports clubs and schools.”
Mr Tosh and Mr Brown have given up successful careers to establish their company and work for it full-time.
Mr Tosh said: “We have taken a really big risk with this, we had good careers, but we saw it as an opportunity to really make a difference in our lives and other people’s lives. Football can reach out to so many different sectors of the community without any barriers, it can be used to unite people and help social inclusion “Although a lot of companies have social responsibility schemes, there is no other company doing this on this scale.”
Firms can have their logos put onto the boots if they are providing them to grass roots sports as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Mr Tosh said: “We want to work alongside schools, sports clubs, charities and companies adopting CSR projects, both in the UK and abroad, and to gain recognition as a brand that stands for quality and value, and that reinvests in grass roots sports.”
The men have been invited to South Africa later in the year, where the 2010 football World Cup will be held, after donating 250 pairs of their boots to projects in townships.
For further details about the company, or to buy boots, go to kick4change.org
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