When entrepreneurship meets sustainability: ASU student pioneers changes in footwear industry

Shoes are both necessary and fashionable. Data shows that the global footwear industry generated $84.5 billion in sneaker sales alone, with a projected annual growth rate of 5%.

However, with its high demand and consumption comes environmental challenges.

Each year, around 24 billion new pairs of shoes are manufactured worldwide, with 22 billion pairs discarded. In the U.S, people throw away over 300 million pairs of shoes, 95% of which wind up in the landfill annually. This contributes to the growing waste crisis and environmental challenges in the fashion industry. 

Jalen McClellan viewed this challenge as an opportunity.

McClellan is an ASU senior student who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in innovation in society from School for the Future of Innovation in Society, an academic unit of College of Global Futures.

Passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability, he envisioned a solution to make footwear fashion greener and more accessible.

This led him to develop "Kickin' Kicks," an app designed to repurpose, buy, and sell second-hand shoes.

“The vision for the project is really to remove waste in the fashion industry; while this is a part of a larger issue that has various components, I’m focusing specifically on footwear because I have the right connections and am building more,” McClellan said.

“And I feel like if we can just start reducing waste, we can do it on a grander scale of things to empower people.”

McClellan is also the owner of UndefeatedJ, an upcycled project that extends the lifespan of footwear globally by repurposing, redesigning, and customizing each collection to prevent waste. His recent collection is featured on student-made at ASU online shop. 

His newest effort, the “Kickin’ Kicks” app, is under development, and aims to create a circular economy for footwear, expanding on this current initiative.

McClellan explained how his app works. It’s a community-driven platform where users can upload their used shoes, and his team restores, revitalizes and when they are sold, ships them to their new owners.

“If someone in Texas wants shoes from New York, they click the button to get it restored, and the shoes come to us, we will restore it and then ship it out to the person who can afford to get the shoes restored,” he said.

The app will partner with a solution sneakers company to showcase educational materials on sustainability. 

If people donate shoes to the platform, the team will set a bid limit, allowing more people to access them at an affordable price, he said. 

This summer, McClellan he brought two interns on board to help with app development. He also collects donations of old footwear, which will be cleaned and sold for just $1 once the platform launches.

McClellan’s passion developed early on, which shaped his understanding of the importance of affordable footwear.

“Growing up, I couldn’t get shoes often, so I was kind of an expert at being sustainable with my footwear,” he said.

He said that this experience motivated him to help other people “feel empowered and feel fresh when it comes to their feet,” regardless of whether the shoes are new or used.

Transferring to ASU from Illinois, McClellan said his time at ASU has been transformative.

“When I first came here, I felt like I can thrive here; I would say almost every class I have taken has inspired me,” he said.

Among all the classes, he credited his capstone class, FIS 480: Innovation Studio, as the most impactful.

“[The] innovation and society thing, I believe, is to bring something to the table where you see what’s going wrong in the world,” he said.

“Jalen truly embodies the Sun Devil spirit—forward-thinking, inclusive, and impactful,” said Chris Deaton, a faculty associate at the School for the Future of Innovation in Society. Deaton was McClellan’s instructor and mentor for the capstone class and research project.

Deaton encouraged McClellan to keep expanding on his project about footwear sustainability.

After the capstone program, McClellan also participated in the undergraduate research project launched by the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, where he incubated his entrepreneurial idea. In the Spring semester, the project helped McClellan win an award at the school’s poster symposium.

“Collaborating with the 'Shoe Guy' pushed me to rethink how the Responsible Innovation Lab supports ASU entrepreneurs,” Deaton said.

McClellan said he was inspired by being around other fellow students at ASU to continue to achieve success.

Through “Kick'n Kicks,” McClellan hopes to disrupt the status quo and pioneer the change in the sustainable footwear industry, with one pair of shoes at a time.

“He’s not just repurposing and recycling; he’s already building a lasting legacy at ASU,” Deaton said.