100% eco-friendly sneakers, yes it is possible.
It is even the specialty of the Allbirds brand.
Created in 2014 in New Zealand and now based in San Francisco, the company has made a name for itself with its merino wool sneakers.
It has just invested $ 2 million in Natural Fiber Welding, a start-up specializing in natural polymers, which will allow it to market 100% vegetable leather, made with vegetable oil, natural rubber and 'other organic ingredients.
The first shoes with this new material will be released in December 2021.
According to Allbirds, this vegetable leather, called Plant Leather, will have up to 40 times the carbon impact of conventional leather - which between aging and tanning is very poor for the environment - and 17 times less than synthetic leather, produced from petroleum.
Master the distribution
Allbirds, which has also diversified into clothing, is a mission company in the American sense (B corp), whose raison d'être is to manufacture products that are respectful of the environment and sustainable.
Far from being anecdotal, this niche is promising in fashion, a very polluting industry which is trying to go green under pressure from certain consumers.
Allbirds, which also uses eucalyptus fiber or sugar cane-based foam, was valued at $ 1.4 billion in 2018, during the last capital operation.
The brand sells its products at an affordable price (135 euros for example for running shoes).
One of its recipes is to do without intermediaries.
“
We only sell online and in our own stores
,” says Joey Zwillinger, co-founder and co-director of Allbirds.
People don't just want sustainable products, they want good products ”.