Allbirds Has Reduced Its Average Product Carbon Footprint by 12%
Allbirds says it reduced its average product carbon footprint by 12% between 2020 and 2021.
The eco-friendly footwear brand revealed this figure, as well as other environmental focused accomplishments, its in first-ever Sustainability Report on Friday. Allbirds said it has committed to cutting its per product carbon footprint in half by 2025 and reducing it to close to zero by 2030.
“Anyone can announce big goals or make big donations — it’s one thing to commit to zero carbon emissions and quite another to make the necessary reductions year over year,” said Hana Kajimura, head of sustainability at Allbirds, in a statement. “Real leadership looks like hundreds of small decisions every day that add up to something big over time.”
Throughout 2021, Allbirds has overseen a series of launches and initiatives to support the reduction of carbon emissions. On the product end, the company launched the Tree Dasher 2 shoe. In this revamp of its first running shoe, Allbirds reduced its carbon footprint by 5% by using a 21% lighter midsole and eliminating unnecessary parts.
This year, Allbirds revealed the Pacer, which debuted in two materials: plant leather and canvas. Plant leather, the brand’s plant-based alternative leather, is 100% plastic free, 100% vegan and uses natural materials including rubber, plant oils and agricultural byproducts such as rice hulls and citrus peels.
Allbirds also said it procured 100% renewable energy for its manufacturers in the US and Vietnam and launched a program to source regenerative wool in New Zealand. Allbirds said its goal is to source 100% of its wool from regenerative sources by 2025.
In 2021, the brand also said it achieved 84% ocean shipping, which has a lower carbon footprint their air travel — up from 80% in 2020.
In 2022, Allbirds launched a resale platform powered by Trove to help extend the lifecycle of its products and said it has begun redesigning footwear packaging to make its products more lightweight.
In August, Allbirds announced measures to alleviate headwinds in the current macroeconomic environment after reporting results for its second quarter. The footwear maker said it had implemented “Simplification Initiatives” to cut costs and generate revenue. These measures include “dramatically” slowing the pace of corporate new hires and replacements for employees who left as well as reducing its global corporate workforce by 8%, which the company carried out via layoffs.
Other cost saving measures include reducing corporate office space to support a hybrid work model, transitioning to automated distribution centers, optimizing inventory, and scaling manufacturing to reduce costs and product carbon footprints.