Allbirds Develops New Shoe for Sustainability

Sustainable and innovative fashion brand Allbirds officially released M0.0NSHOT net-zero carbon emission shoes at the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen, which also marks the arrival of a revolutionary new era in the footwear industry.

The carbon dioxide emission of this series of shoes is almost zero; get rid of the carbon neutral mode of emission first and then offset, pioneering consideration of farm carbon emission and product carbon footprint sequestration, so that net zero carbon emission has entered reality from conception. "The launch of the M0.0NSHOT not only ushered in a new chapter in shoemaking but also confirmed the commercial viability and scalability of the shoe."

M0.0NSHOT measures to achieve net zero carbon emissions include:

Carbon Negative Renewable Merino Wool Upper: selected from Lake Hawea Station (LHS), New Zealand.

The carbon released during the production process is captured at the same time as the breakthrough on the farm, so that the product can reach net zero carbon emissions.

SuperLight Foam midsole foam: carbon-negative bio-based midsole foam material formed by supercritical foaming technology using sugar cane.

Carbon-negative Green PE packaging based on sugarcane: using clean energy and rigorous planning to complete the low-carbon transportation plan, reducing the weight and space required for transportation

Allbirds released the M0.0NSHOT production technology and manufacturing process to all sectors of society for free at the summit and called on partners from all walks of life to jointly innovate production technology, create better and more sustainable products, and welcome a green future.

"This may be one small step for Allbirds, but one giant leap for the shoe industry," said Allbirds co-founder Tim Brown. "The original intention of developing M0.0NSHOT was to race against time with the entire industry, promote industry cooperation, and make progress together."

At the summit, Allbirds co-founder Tim Brown officially unveiled the mystery of M0.0NSHOT and at the same time promised to open source "Recipe B0.0K—the M0.0NSHOT "Technical Guide—to society.

At the meeting site, Allbirds distributed this technical guide to the participants, and the electronic version can also be browsed and downloaded on the Allbirds official website. The guide details every step in the production of the M0.0NSHOT, including materials, manufacturing, shipping, lifespan, and carbon footprint calculation formulas. Allbirds calls on competing partners to use this guide to create their own version of net-zero carbon footwear, accelerate the industry's update and development, and enter the "net-zero carbon era" faster.

Tim Brown also said: "M0.0NSHOT is an impressive achievement for Allbirds, but without the joint efforts of other industry partners, it will be difficult to change the status quo. Maybe M0.0NSHOT is not good medicine. A standard answer, but this is a huge leap, so we feel that it is necessary to open source this guide and share a series of related information, such as research and development technology, with everyone for free, so that footwear practitioners have the opportunity to pick up the baton and work hard. Let’s move forward and make progress together."

Allbirds has focused on reducing product carbon emissions since its establishment. In 2018, SweetFoam®, a green carbon-negative EVA midsole foam extracted from sugarcane, was developed, which planted the seeds of innovation for the birth of M0.0NSHOT. In 2019, we affix carbon footprint labels to all products, and a year later, we cooperate with competition partner Adidas to develop Adizero x Allbirds running shoes with a carbon footprint of less than 3kg. Allbirds has since gone a step further with plans to create a net-zero carbon-emission shoe.

In 2022, leaders from all departments of the Allbirds brand formed a cross-functional team, the Future Business Unit, to accept this challenge. They combined the brand's previous design experience and innovative green technology to create M0.0NSHOT. Made from carbon-negative materials and recycled wool, the shoe presents classic Allbirds materials with a striking new look. This significant innovation is planned to be launched in the spring of 2024.