Allbirds says its net-zero carbon shoe is here
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Carbon has been the North Star of Allbirds’s sustainability strategy since the brand’s inception in 2016, but creating a net-zero carbon shoe has remained elusive — until now, it says.
Today, the San Francisco-based brand unveiled M0.0nshot, a sneaker with a net footprint of 0.0 kg of CO2 emissions. Instead of controversial carbon offsetting, the shoe relies on three materials Allbirds says are carbon-negative: regeneratively farmed merino wool, a sugarcane-based EVA foam and a bioplastic made from methane by US startup Mango Materials. According to Allbirds, the carbon sequestered in the production of these materials counters the residual impact of manufacturing, transportation, product use and end of life. The first prototype will be revealed at the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen this June, with a commercial launch to follow in 2024.
Allbirds says the average pair of sneakers has a carbon footprint of 14 kg of CO2 emissions; its own previous record was 2.94kg of CO2 emissions — the result of its 2020 partnership with sportswear giant Adidas. One of its landmark sustainability commitments is to cut its carbon footprint in half by the end of 2025, and get it to near zero by 2030. It’s not the only brand choosing to reduce its direct emissions. Levi’s is working with the International Finance Corporation to help factories and mills reduce energy and water use; Ganni is building a solar plant with a longtime Portuguese supplier; and brands from Mara Hoffman to Sheep Inc. are using regeneratively farmed wool that can potentially sequester more carbon than its production emits.
While the true potential of regenerative agriculture to sequester carbon is a subject of intense debate, the practice is unquestionably better than conventional industrial farming when it comes to emissions as well as soil health, water quality and other issues. Still, experts have raised concerns over carbon tunnel vision, and its potential to overlook other critical issues such as land and water use, biodiversity and chemical pollution.
“M0.0nshot isn’t a silver bullet for the climate crisis,” says co-founder and CEO Tim Brown. It’s simply the latest in a line of about 20 projects Allbirds has been pursuing in the last year, which it says have helped bring its overall emissions down by 12 per cent.
The net-zero carbon shoe launches at a time when the company is up against financial pressures. It went public on Nasdaq in 2021, part of an IPO boom that also included Poshmark, Rent the Runway, Thredup and Zegna. However, its results since filing have disappointed analysts, and shares are down 52 per cent this year. Net revenue decreased 13.4 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2022, and net losses reached $24.9 million, compared to $10.4 million a year prior. The company appointed new chief finance officer Annie Mitchell in early March, as well as a strategic transformation plan to reignite growth and drive profitability.
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