Earlier this year, German giant ADIDAS announced that it was teaming up with sustainability startup ALLBIRDS to design a low carbon footprint sneaker. After many months of work, the FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT silhouette will soon be released.
With this collab, the ADIDAS brand takes another step in its already committed sustainability approach. The ambition of the 2 brands, via this long-term partnership, is to produce a shoe with a neutral carbon footprint. ALLBIRDS and adidas share proprietary technologies and material innovations to achieve this common goal.
Co-founded in 2016 in San Francisco by former professional footballer Tim Brown, New Zealand-born brand ALLBIRDS is transforming the sneaker industry, with a simple, clean aesthetic built on a deep eco-responsible commitment.
Brian Grevy, adidas Global Brands Board Member explains : « Our partnership with Allbirds is a model of what can happen when competing brands come together to design products. By working hand in hand and sharing our knowledge and resources (such as Allbirds’ know-how in terms of carbon calculations and experience with natural materials, and adidas’ expertise in manufacturing and performance footwear), we aim to set an example for other brands and take an important step on the road to a carbon neutral sports industry. »
The FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT is a running shoe with the lowest carbon footprint to date : 2.94kg of CO2e per pair. It’s created with 63% fewer emissions than a traditional sneaker.
This silhouette features an upper made of 70% recycled polyester and 30% natural Tencel. Tencel is a fiber made from wood pulp, resulting in a soft, lightweight upper that aids in performance. The new midsole unit is inspired by adidas’ Lightstrike midsole and is enhanced with a composite material from SweetFoam technology that uses ALLBIRDS’ biosourced sugarcane. To finalize the design, the outsole is adorned with 10% recycled rubber.
As for the design, it follows the minimalist approach applied to materials.
Florence Rohart, adidas Footwear Design Manager said : « For this project, we played the minimalism card. In order to apply this logic not only in terms of materials but also in terms of construction, our approach was extreme and we only kept the essential elements to guarantee the shoe’s performance ».
Following a reduction approach, the runner presented in a full white color, is built according to the principle of tangram. That is to say, in the manner of puzzle pieces that fit together and therefore create no waste.
The Allbirds x adidas FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT, in its inaugural white colorway, will be released as a limited edition on December 15, 2021, in stores, online at adidas.com, as well as on the adidas and Allbirds apps, for 120$. During the spring of 2022, the silhouette should be offered in 4 additional colorways.
