Denim Dogs, the Young Enterprise company based at The Becket Sixth Form, West Bridgford, was successful in reaching the National Finals in Cardiff on Wednesday 3 June 2026.
The Year 12 team, led by Managing Director Finn Rendu, competed against 12 other companies from across the UK. Each year, over 1,000 students take part in the YE Company Programme, and this shows what a huge success Denim Dogs has achieved.
Denim Dogs makes dog collars, leads and waste bag holders from upcycled denim taken from jeans donated by local charity shops that are unable to sell them.
This prevents the material from going to landfill or being incinerated and therefore reduces the burden of fast fashion on the environment.
The Becket School team came up with the idea after researching the rise in the number of dog owners and the harmful impact of fast fashion on the planet. Once they had their designs, they learnt to sew the materials together, and all manufacturing was completed in-house by members of the 11-strong team.
The dog collars are available in two sizes – small/medium and medium/large – and have been competitively priced at £10 and £12 respectively.
The dog collars have been on sale at West Bridgford markets, the Garage Market in Beeston/Chilwell and through The Pet Pantry in Ruddington.
Myleene Bradley, Sales Director, said, “Our products have been really well received by customers. We’ve had lots of positive comments about the quality of the collars, which is obviously really important to keep their precious dogs safe.” Martha Le Ruez, Marketing Director, has promoted their products consistently through Instagram and TikTok @denimd0gs, as well as their own website, denim-dogs.com, which was developed in-house.
Denim Dogs won three awards at the Nottinghamshire round in February and then beat off competitors in the East Midlands round in April with a further four awards, including Outstanding Innovation. According to Lilia Mann, Finance Director, “We’ve really enjoyed the process of running our own company, and I’m now seriously considering a degree in a business-related subject.”
The Becket School team was assisted by Diane Shepheard, the Business Adviser on behalf of Young Enterprise, and Jamie Bestwick, Teacher of Economics and Business at Becket Sixth Form. Success in reaching the National Final is familiar territory for Becket Sixth Form, having got there in 2022 with Sacked Store, which turned empty 200 Degrees coffee sacks into tote bags, and in 2024 with Caps Off, which made coasters from bottle caps collected from local restaurants, including Wagamama.
Finn Rendu, Managing Director, said, “We are hugely proud of what we have achieved. At the start of the journey, we knew a few members of our team and had a strong idea for a product, but we really had no idea of what this would lead to or how much we would learn from the process. It’s not only been an incredible amount of hard work but also a lot of fun, and we’re grateful for the unforgettable experience that Denim Dogs has given us!”
Becket Sixth Form and past team members would also like to show their appreciation for all the extraordinary efforts of former Business Adviser Dai Jones, who recently passed away. Dai was a champion of young people embracing the opportunities of creating and running their own business and the valuable life lessons they are able to learn from it. He will be sadly missed.
