Allbirds, a shoe start up that focuses on the ethical sourcing of raw materials, hit the market in March 2016. The brand has sold over a million shoes in the last two years, making it one of the fastest-growing direct-to-consumer shoe brands of all time. Now, they’ve come out with the first-ever FSC-certified shoe.
A native of New Zealand, Tim Brown was always well versed in the magical qualities of merino wool. Inherently curious, he began asking himself why such a remarkable, sustainable resource was virtually absent in the footwear industry. And with that spirit of wonder, the Allbirds journey began.
After years of researching and tinkering, Tim teamed up with Joey Zwillinger, an engineer and renewables expert. Together, they crafted a revolutionary wool fabric and tree fabric made specifically for footwear. The outcome? An entirely new category of shoes inspired by natural materials, and an ongoing mantra to create better things in a better way.
According to Allbirds, their tree fiber—TENCEL™ Lyocell—is sourced from South African farms that minimize fertilizer and rely on rainfall, not irrigation. Compared to traditional materials like cotton, it uses 95% less water and cuts their carbon footprint in half.
The new Tree shoe comes in two versions: a “runner,” which laces up like a track shoe, and a “skipper,” a low-riding model reminiscent of a boat shoe.
As of March 2018, Allbirds now ships to Canada and they can also be found at their pop-up shops in Nordstrom from March 30-May 20th at the Pacific Centre in Vancouver, BC and the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, ON.
Get yours today.
Source: allbirds – Fast Company