With the help of Clean Agency, an environmental consultancy, Allbirds is now calculating the carbon footprint and labelling their products, so that consumers can make informed decisions on how much they are helping change the level of CO2 emissions.
Climate change has been having a large impact on Earth long before the pandemic halted everything. Industries throughout the world are emitting massive amounts of CO2, which is the main cause of the problem. In other words, the carbon footprint of each product alone is pretty high. And, Allbirds calculated their sourcing materials, development, manufacturing, customer care and end of life to conclude that their Wool Runners emit 7.1kg of CO2 whereas normal running shoes of other industries have a carbon footprint of at least 12.5kg.
Other Allbirds products also have lessened carbon footprint: Tree Runner at 8.1 kg, Tree Toppers at 8.8 kg and the Wool Lounger at 6 kg. And, the Hider is 1.4 kg, the Quarter is 1.9 kg and Tuber is 2.5 kg in the sock category. Also, Allbirds cloth-covered sneaker emits roughly 7.6 kg of CO2, which is said to be the same as charging your mobile phone 967 times or taking a 30 km journey in an average car!
Allbirds launched the initiative on 14th April 2020, and the footwear brand, whose key material is Merino wool, already became 100% carbon-neutral in 2019. Moreover, they are using materials such as recycled bottles for laces, castor bean oil for its insoles and recycled cardboard for its boxes. In addition, they are looking for more and better ways to reduce CO2 emissions.
Allbirds has faced losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, just like any other company. It has a total of 18 outlets, many of which are closed now, but they are providing steep discounts in the rest for which they are doing much better than their competitors. Also, they are providing full salaries to their employees until 31st July 2020.
Joey Zwillinger, the co-founder of Allbirds, believes that now people would be more cautious of what is essential to them and help mother nature thrive better, for which their latest initiative should have a good response.
