Adidas and Allbirds, a company that focuses on eco-friendly footwear, are joining forces to produce running shoes with the lowest-ever carbon footprint.
The brands say they are aiming for the shoes to have a carbon output of 2kg or less. The average running shoe generates around 13.6kg of carbon dioxide emissions, two-thirds of it from the manufacturing process.
James Carnes, vice president of brand strategy at Adidas, said in an interview with Vogue Runners World, Part of the Hearst UK Wellbeing Network.
‘We’ve already realised we’re doing the right thing because we’re moving so much faster than either of us would have if we were trying to do this alone,’ he said.
‘Getting to two kilograms is like running a two-minute mile,’ he added. ‘It seems impossible, but that’s what gets us excited.’
Tim Brown, cofounder of Allbirds, said, ‘There’s a carbon number for every component and every process, and you have to add it up, so the number gets as close to zero as possible.
‘You start to understand that every component you add, or the way the foam is moulded, it all has an impact.’
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‘We both have a number of different tools and innovations in our stable, and it was really easy to start a conversation about how we could bring them together,’ he said.
‘Adidas brought the tools we have, like recycling with Parley, and Allbirds brought their carbon-rating system and their sustainable wool and sugarcane foam, and we laid those out as options.
‘That was just the first step; the next will be figuring out the processes, the packaging and delivering it to the customer with the lowest amount of fuel and energy.’
Although it is unclear when the new shoes will be ready for us to try, the news marks an important moment for intra-brand collaborations.
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