Allbirds’ truly unique running shoe

Celebrated eco-conscious shoe designers, Allbirds, has released an all-new runner’s show powered by natural products: the Allbirds Dasher.

Jun 10, 2020

For decades, athletic shoes have almost exclusively been crafted from plastic – a resource with a global production that emits enough carbon to blanket 25 million football fields annually. Allbirds has committed to changing this equation on a global scale.

Allbirds Dashers are a one-of-a-kind carbon neutral running shoe, providing runners with flexible stability and natural cushioning. 

New Zealand native Tim Brown was always well versed in the magical qualities of merino wool. Inherently curious, Tim began asking himself why such a remarkable, sustainable resource was virtually absent in the footwear industry. And with that spirit of discovery, the Allbirds journey began. 

Tim, together with Joey Zwillinger, an engineer and renewables expertbelieve that human health  which, in this moment of great hardshipis at the forefront of all of our minds  can go hand-in-hand with planet health. Allbirds decided to do something positive, creating a different kind of running shoethe Dasher.  

Dismissing plastic (which even as a recycled product still has a carbon footprint), Allbirds utilised responsible sourcing techniques and novel materials – sugarcane, eucalyptus, and merino wool – in creating the Dasher. In fact, in this application, these materials have the potential to suck more carbon out of the atmosphere than they take to produce. 

Dashers are a one-of-a-kind neutral running shoe, providing runners with flexible stability and natural cushioning. Their sleek, lightweight design comes in four launch colours (Geyser, Cyclone, Flame, and Thunder), and is perfect for everything from your morning 5K to your dash to the grocery store.  

Allbirds says its Dasher running shoes are the first footwear or apparel product to be labeled with its carbon output: 9kg of CO2 per pair, which is nearly 30% lower than the estimated average sneaker.  

And as with all Allbirds products, the company has taxed itself to neutralise the Dasher’s current emissions because, as is the company’s mantra: anything above zero is too large.  

Allbirds’ plan to eliminate its products’ carbon footprint is three-fold and it’s already in action. First, the company measures the emissions of everything from their raw materials to their end of life. Next, it reduces its impact by incorporating things like natural and recycled materials. And finally, Allbirds offsets the little bit that’s left with carbon offsets, making this revolutionary Kiwi-born shoe brand a completely carbon neutral business.