Global sportswear brand adidas and sustainable footwear brand Allbirds have joined forces to launch Futurecraft.Footprint, an all-new low carbon running shoe.
Both companies have been forthright in their goal of utilizing a lower-emission design process and creating a performance running shoe that has zero carbon footprint. Through this collaboration, both adidas and Allbirds are one step closer to this goal.
According to Allbirds, the collaboration with adidas began by asking the question “where can we reduce?” This led them to reexamine every step of the production process. From there, they were inspired to utilize as many natural and recycled materials as possible, convert Tier 1 factories’ energy towards a renewable model, reimagine packaging with less air and weight, and offset emissions from shipping.
So far, only a prototype of the Futurecraft.Footprint has been released. The brands say that each pair has a carbon footprint of just 2.94 kilograms of carbon dioxide and was created using 63% less emissions than the average running shoe (a feat that took the companies roughly one year to complete). For reference, adidas’ Adizero RC3 running shoe has a carbon footprint of 7.86 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
The Futurecraft.Footprint was born out of significant advancements made by both companies. The shoe is based on adidas’ Lightstrike midsole, but was made out of Allbirds’ sugarcane-based SweetFoam to provide a low-carbon alternative.
In addition, the shoe’s upper is made out of 70% recycled polyester and 30% natural Tencel, an innovative material derived from wood pulp. adidas and Allbirds claim that the use of these lightweight, natural materials ensures a significantly reduced carbon footprint while offering true performance capabilities.
As a style choice, a reminder to their consumers, and to showcase the brands’ dedication to minimizing their environmental impact, each pair of Futurecraft.Footprint shoes has the product’s carbon footprint printed on the side. By doing this, adidas and Allbirds hope to hold themselves and their consumers accountable.
All images in this article are courtesy of adidas and Allbirds.
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