Allbirds and Adidas to release their low carbon running shoe
Adidas and sustainable shoe brand Allbirds have announced that eight months after introducing their "breakthrough" concept of a low-carbon shoe they are ready to launch the FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT running shoe commercially.
The two brands commented that making the running shoe a reality was "demonstrating the power of collaboration to the rest of the sportswear industry and beyond."
At 2.94kg CO2e per pair the FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT has the lowest carbon footprint of any shoe either brand have created and is also their lightest performance shoe.
The shoe will have an initial limited drop this month both online and in-store with a wider release featuring four new colourways to follow in Spring 2022.
The brands said that they had made significant learnings following the 12-month process of creating the shoe, finding new ways across product and material design and packaging to reduce their footprint.
The shoe uses a combination of each brand’s design and material innovations. The midsole is based on adidas’ popular LIGHTSTRIKE design, while the midsole compound is reimagined with Allbirds’ bio-based sugarcane, offering a low-carbon component made in part with natural materials.
Additionally, the upper material is made with 77% recycled polyester and 23% natural Tencel (a material made from wood pulp) that enhances performance and has a reduced carbon impact. Finally, the outsole is made with 10% recycled rubber.
Brian Grevy, Executive Board Member Global Brands at Adidas said: “Our ambition is to take FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT from moonshot concept to something that sparks systemic change. We wanted to demonstrate how collaboration and an open-source mindset can create a halo effect across the industry and help make progress towards net zero.
Adidas has a heritage of working closely with partners to scale new innovations. Now, our sights are set on a 15% average CO2e footprint reduction on every product by 2025, and FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT is a major step forward for this ambition and our journey to create low carbon footwear at scale.”
Tim Brown, Co-Founder & Co-CEO at Allbirds added: “FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT is an important reminder that we can achieve more together than we can separately, especially when it comes to the race against climate change. It's been incredible to see this go from a simple yet far-fetched idea of the world's lowest carbon footprint running shoe to a product that consumers can get their hands on in just two years – it's a testament to the power of collaboration in the face of a daunting challenge.
We at Allbirds are on our own journey to cut our per-product carbon emissions by 95% by 2030, and the unrelenting focus both teams brought to FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT is exactly what we'll need to achieve this ambitious goal. But far beyond its impact for either of our brands, our hope is that this product can inspire others in the industry to rethink the way things have 'always' been done, and that specific learning from our development process can unlock carbon savings for their teams, as well."
The shoe will launch with a limited drop, available to buy (RRP €120 or equivalent local currency) from 15 December at adidas.com, the adidas and Allbirds apps and select adidas and Allbirds stores. This will be followed by the wider release featuring four new colourways in Spring 2022.
