Loughborough University

Who we are?

Loughborough Sport sits at the heart of sport at Loughborough University, with a reputation built on performance, facilities, expertise and working partnerships. Alongside its strong connection to elite sport, Loughborough also creates wide-ranging opportunities for students to take part, with an inclusive sporting environment that supports participation across campus.

Why we partnered with kitround

At Loughborough, sport is a visible part of student life, which means there is real opportunity to keep more kit in play rather than letting good items go to waste. By partnering with kitround, Loughborough can make it easier for students and the wider campus community to pass on usable sports kit, support a more circular approach to sport, and build a model that connects sustainability with practical access.

This partnership also creates a way to capture kit during key student clear-out periods, so that good quality items can be reused, redistributed or resold where appropriate rather than discarded.

Our objectives together

Through this collaboration, we aim to:

Launch an initial kit collection drive across Loughborough Sport facilities, with kitbins placed to make donation simple and visible
Collect surplus sports kit and selected equipment from students and the university community during high-volume donation periods
Work with volunteers and existing university networks to support sorting, triage and processing
Explore how collected stock can support affordable access to sport through the right channels, including a potential Loughborough-specific route for eligible items
Build the foundations for impact tracking over time, including environmental and social value insights

The partnership is designed to start with a practical pilot, learn from the first collection phase, and then develop into a repeatable model around key campus moments such as end-of-term and hall clear-outs.

“We’re excited to be partnering with kitround and to see how this initiative can help reinforce Loughborough’s position as a leading sporting university with a growing commitment to sustainability. By creating more opportunities to reuse and redistribute kit, this partnership supports a more practical, visible approach to reducing waste and widening access to sport.”

Andy Motch, Partnership Development Manager

What's next?

The first phase focuses on launching the partnership, introducing kitbins on campus, and driving initial collection through coordinated communications across Loughborough Sport channels. From there, the next step will be to review the volume and type of inventory collected, refine the sorting and volunteer process, and shape the most useful next route for the kit.

Over time, the ambition is to create a model that works for Loughborough’s campus rhythms, supports students who need lower-cost access to kit, and demonstrates what circular sport can look like in a university setting.

Why we exist

In the UK an estimated 100,000 tonnes of sportswear ends up in landfill each year.

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Why we exist

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