Eco-friendly footwear firm Allbirds create world's first Net Zero shoe
Eco-friendly footwear firm Allbirds have unveiled M0.0NSHOT - the world's first net zero carbon shoe.
The high-top shoe boasts a landmark carbon footprint of net 0.0 kg CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) - and the company has opened up about how they made the remarkable shoe in a bid to get the rest of the fashion industry to follow suit.
One design element that helped Allbirds achieve Net Zero is using carbon-negative, regenerative wool that wraps the entirety of the M0.0NSHOT - and provides it with a striking, futuristic look.
Allbirds's co-founder Tim Brown took to the stage at the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen on 27 June to unveil the shoe and call on industry competitors in the audience to create their own versions.
To help them do so, Allbirds is open-sourcing the M0.0NSHOT methodology via its 'Recipe B0.0K': a toolkit detailing each step of the M0.0NSHOT's process, including materials, manufacturing, transportation, end-of-life, and carbon footprint calculation.
"This is one small step for Allbirds - but it could be one giant leap for the footwear industry, if others join us. Unlike the space 'race', this is a relay - we're all on the same side," said Brown.
The Allbirds team achieved their Net Zero goal using a carbon negative regenerative wool sourced from Lake Hawea Station. The midsole also features a specially crafted version of Allbirds's SuperLight Foam, a carbon negative bio-based midsole foam made with sugarcane and formed via supercritical foaming. It also has components including a logo made with methane-capture bioplastic via a partnership with Mango Materials. Even the packaging is carbon negative - utilising sugarcane-based polyethylene.
