Allbirds, a sustainable casual fashion startup and a B-type company, has been making frequent moves lately. In addition to promoting carbon footprint labeling for its products, it has also partnered with global giant Adidas to revolutionize the fashion industry and enable consumers to wear comfortable, low-carbon shoes!
Initiating the first carbon footprint labeling initiative for the fashion industry This will make consumers feel the impact.
According to a global survey of 10,000 consumers, more than two-thirds of consumers would support carbon footprint labels on products.
Consequently, in recent years, Allbirds, a sustainable fashion casual shoe startup, has been stealing market share from established players like Nike and Adidas. Now, the six-year-old brand (valued at over $1.4 billion) is entering into a strategic partnership with rival Adidas. This collaboration not only reflects Allbirds's mission to shift the industry toward low-carbon manufacturing, but also highlights the direction of the post-pandemic retail consumer market.
Despite the impact of the pandemic, Allbirds, a B-type company, not only donated NT$10 million worth of 2,000 pairs of wool shoes to frontline medical workers, but also announced in late April that its products would be labeled with carbon footprints, making it a leader in the fashion industry.
Allbirds' biggest advantage is that its products are made from natural eucalyptus fiber, merino wool, and sugarcane fiber, which are biodegradable and attract many sustainability-conscious consumers. However, they say the Dasher shoe still emits 9 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
Therefore, Allbirds aims to pioneer the practice of labeling every pair of its manufactured products with a carbon footprint, joining the global commitment of B-type companies to achieve Net Zero 2030. They first established internal carbon pricing and levied taxes based on emissions to support their subsequent greenhouse gas emission reduction plans. They then conducted a life cycle assessment of the company's total greenhouse gas emissions from raw material procurement, development, manufacturing, and recycling.
The founder of Allbirds said that ultimately, they hope to use this program to continuously raise consumer awareness about the shoes they wear. Beyond just comfortable shoes, they want to encourage consumers to look at carbon emission figures, just like calorie counts on food labels, helping them consciously support companies that have a social and environmental impact through their consumption. They even hope that other companies in the industry will follow suit, promoting the power of BOC (Beneficial Business Partnership) to work together for the best for the world.
Partnering with sportswear giant Adidas to revolutionize the fashion sneaker industry
The global athletic footwear industry emits 700 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to the energy consumption of 87 million 5,444 households per year. But is it possible to give consumers the opportunity to choose comfortable footwear with a low carbon footprint?
After a period of discussion, James Carnes, Vice President of Brand Strategy at Adidas, and Tim Brown, founder of Allbirds, jointly issued a partnership statement:
"This isn't a question one company can answer alone, so we're working together to find ways to make sporting goods with the lowest carbon emissions," Adidias's Karnes emphasized. "We all feel the same way; this is a race to save the planet."
“So together we will explore innovations from manufacturing and supply chain to transportation methods to eliminate carbon emissions while creating a shoe that meets our highest performance standards. We will both leverage our product lifecycle assessment tools and analyze the entire process to ensure we are working together responsibly.”
Although neither side has disclosed detailed information about the cooperation, they emphasized that this is a beginning and both sides must continue to speak freely and move towards their goal.
Source: Environmental Information Centre
