Denim Dogs Compete at the Young Enterprise National Finals

Press release 05/06/26

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^rd June 2026. The Year 12 team, led by Managing Director, Finn Rendu, were competing against 12

other companies from across the UK. Each year, over 1000 students take part in the YE Company Programme and this shows what a huge success Denim Dogs has achieved.

Denim Dogs make dog collars, leads and waste bag holders made from upcycled denim from jeans which have been donated by local charity shops that are unable to sell them in their shops. 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 the West Bridgford market, 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 3 awards at the Nottinghamshire round in February and then beat off competitors in the East Midlands round in April with a further 4 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 were 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 who turned empty 200 Degrees coffee sacks into tote bags and in 2024 with Caps Off who made coasters from bottle caps collected from local restaurants including Wagamama. 

Finn Rendu, Managing Director says “We are hugely proud of what we have achieved. At the start of the journey, we knew a few of our team and we had a strong idea for a product, but we really didn’t have an idea of what this would lead to and 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 shown by 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 that they’re able to learn from it. He will be sadly missed.

For further information and photos, please contact j.bestwick@becketonline.co.uk