Worldwide, people feel the weight of environmental decline. For many, eco-anxiety—the fear that individual actions can’t possibly match the scale of the crisis—has replaced optimism. The Clean Earth Challenge, co-created by Johnson Outdoors and the National Wildlife Federation, set out to prove the opposite: that small, repeatable actions can add up to meaningful, visible change.
Our north star was clear: remove one million pieces of litter while building lasting conservation habits.
Objectives
Environmental restoration: measurably reduce litter in parks, neighborhoods, waterways, and beaches.
Participation at scale: make joining easy for anyone, including employees, families, students, and corporate partners, by using turnkey toolkits and a public counter showing every piece “counts”
Behavior change: strengthen the connection to nature to induce lasting habitual behaviors.
The Challenge design ensured credibility and inclusivity. Employee “Challenge Champions” led cleanups at 16+ global JO locations, from Hong Kong to El Cajon, creating authentic local ownership. NWF’s marquee programs—Eco-Schools, Eco-Leaders, and Earth Tomorrow—extended grassroots reach to millions of students and underserved youth.
Progress was made visible and contagious through the unifying hashtag #ComeCleanForEarth. Recap reels and before-and-after storytelling tools celebrated contributions of every size. Low-barrier planning, safety, and reporting templates made it easy for both first-time organizers and large-scale partners to join.
Success was assessed through three lenses:
Awareness – reach, visibility, and amplification of the cause.
Engagement – number of participants, partners, and geographies.
Impact – pieces of litter removed and outdoor spaces restored.
Together, these measures turned what felt overwhelming into empowerment.
CEC was established as a distributed movement utilizing the Collective Impact model framework, introduced by Kania and Kramer in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, which enables multiple independent actors to work towards a shared, measurable goal. Employees served as the intentional spark; schools, youth programs, partners, and outdoor communities scaled the effort.
Four strategic pillars
Sparked by employees: At 16+ Johnson Outdoors locations worldwide, volunteer “Challenge Champions” organized cleanups suited to their communities and brand strengths. SCUBAPRO employees cleaned beachfronts in California and partnered with retailers to execute underwater cleanups in Florida. Old Town employees worked with community paddlers to clear hard-to-access shores in Maine. Minn Kota and Cannon partnered with local anglers in Minnesota to restore freshwater habitats, and Humminbird teams in Eufaula, AL, joined local lake cleanups.
Scaled by trusted networks: The National Wildlife Federation embedded CEC into Eco-Schools (K–12), Eco-Leaders (1,000+ campuses), Earth Tomorrow (under-resourced youth), and the Great American Campout, creating immediate pipelines for recurring service and local ownership.
Simplified by tools: A campaign hub provided turnkey planning checklists, safety guidance, customizable flyers, social media templates, and straightforward reporting forms. The live public counter and #ComeCleanForEarth made progress visible and contagious.
Sustained by moments and recognition: Seasonal tentpoles (Earth Day and National Volunteer Week) synchronized thousands of decentralized events while brand, volunteer, and community spotlights reinforced progress.
Execution highlights
Locally led activations spanned from Minnesota to Germany to California, where employees and partners recruited volunteers, coordinated with communities, and partnered with local retailers and organizations.
Participants shared before-and-after photos and short videos that celebrated both group and individual contributions, while partner and school channels expanded reach.
Data collection and reporting reduced burden while maintaining credibility with easy-to-complete logs confirmed by NWF personnel.
Designed for accessibility, first-time organizers could lead a 10-minute micro-cleanup or a citywide event, and mobile-first templates lowered barriers to participation.
Digital and social
The hashtag #ComeCleanForEarth became a living gallery. Recap reels celebrated milestones, and localized resharing honored community leadership. A light paid-support layer boosted key moments of recruitment while earned media tied impact to wildlife and community pride.
Partnerships
More than 50 organizations—corporate, nonprofit, and grassroots—hosted branded cleanups or integrated CEC into existing programs, adding credibility, volunteers, and venues. Internally, cross-brand collaboration strengthened authenticity across JO’s portfolio. Externally, partners such as Behr and New York Life opened doors to new audiences and further amplified reach.
Why it worked
CEC translated the principles of collective impact into an accessible, energizing experience. A single goal and live counter unified thousands of efforts under one banner, while local ownership through employees, schools, and partners ensured relevance and authenticity. Participation was easy with turnkey toolkits, simple reporting, and adaptable formats—from micro-cleanups to citywide events. Storytelling and social media made contributions visible and aspirational, while seasonal moments, such as Earth Day and National Volunteer Week, provided natural opportunities to sustain engagement. These elements transformed what could feel like an overwhelming global problem into small, repeatable actions that built connections to nature and lasting habits of care.
The Clean Earth Challenge has become one of the world’s largest, most recent citizen-driven cleanups—removing more than 11 million pieces of litter across 10+ countries. What began as a one-million-piece goal far surpassed expectations, leaving visible impact on outdoor spaces worldwide.
Awareness
The Challenge generated 1.5 billion+ media impressions through earned, partner, and social channels. Tentpoles like Earth Day and National Volunteer Week fueled visibility, while the hashtag #ComeCleanForEarth created a living gallery of participant stories across social channels. Media coverage tied cleanups directly to habitat protection, making the campaign culturally relevant and newsworthy.
Engagement
Over three hundred and fifty thousand people worldwide participated—from JO employees and local volunteers to students, youth leaders, and corporate partners. Cleanups ranged from 10-minute solo efforts to citywide mobilizations and underwater dives led by SCUBAPRO teams. More than 50 organizations integrated CEC into existing programs, adding credibility and scale. Participants themselves became storytellers, generating thousands of posts, reels, and before-and-after videos that spread the movement organically. Surveys showed that 95% of JO employees plan to participate again, indicating durable engagement.
Impact
The Challenge delivered measurable restoration: 11M+ pieces of litter removed, thousands of parks, shorelines, and waterways restored, and 4,000+ JO employee volunteer hours logged across 19 global sites. Beyond physical outcomes, JO employees reported feeling more hopeful, more connected to nature, and prouder of their company’s environmental commitment—evidence that eco-anxiety can be transformed into empowerment.
Together, these results show how the Challenge exceeded every objective—building awareness, driving engagement, and leaving a lasting impact.
