Allbird’s M0.0NSHOT, the world’s first net zero carbon shoe, is set to launch in Spring 2024. The shoe boasts a 0.0 kg CO₂e carbon footprint, which is a significant accomplishment when compared to the industry average of 14 kg CO₂e. What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that it was accomplished without the use of any carbon offsets.
Allbirds’ creation of M0.0NSHOT is the result of years of work by the brand to reduce carbon across their business and products since the company’s inception. In 2018, the company created SweetFoam, a carbon-negative foam that helped inform the new foam used in M0.0NSHOT. In 2020, the company became the first fashion brand to label 100% of its products with carbon footprints, and one year later, its partnership with adidas created a shoe with a 2.94 kg CO₂e carbon footprint, the lowest in the world at that time.
To create a zero-carbon shoe, the company utilized regenerative wool from Lake Hawea Station in New Zealand, a farm that produces superfine premium merino wool and sequesters more carbon than it emits. The wool is just one component of the M0.0NSHOT, which also includes a carbon-negative, sugarcane-based foam midsole, carbon-negative bioplastic eyelets made from microorganisms that convert methane into a polymer, and carbon-conscious transportation featuring biofuel-powered ocean shipping and electric trucking from port to warehouse.
The shoe’s packaging is also highly carbon-efficient, requiring less space and weight to transport, and made from sugarcane-derived, carbon-negative Green PE. Overall, the creation of M0.0NSHOT represents a significant achievement in sustainable fashion. Allbirds is open-sourcing the toolkit that took it to zero, and inviting their friends in the industry to follow in its footsteps.
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