Should Fashion Be Labelled By Its Carbon Footprint?

Four years ago, Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger launched Allbirds with one pair of wool sneakers. Whether you’re in New York, London, or a small town in Ohio, there’s a good chance you’ve seen them — or dozens of them. Barack Obama is a fan. Allbirds trainers (of which there are now several styles) are popular for their simple design and heathered wool uppers; they’re lightweight, comfortable, and have a softer look than traditional running shoes. “Most sneakers are made with a lot of synthetics, so we looked to the natural world for alternatives,” Brown explains. “We wanted to find materials that wouldn’t compromise the product, but would also be better for the environment.” They landed on New Zealand merino wool for its natural and biodegradable properties, and the rest of the sneaker incorporates castor bean oil, sugarcane, tree fibres, and some recycled polyester.

In short, Allbirds sneakers are definitely gentler on the earth than the average pair, which might be comprised of a dozen plastic parts. That’s enough to attract an eco-minded shopper, but Brown stressed that materials are just one factor in a brand’s environmental footprint. “We’ve started to understand that sustainability means so many different things – it’s air quality, micro plastics, biodiversity, fair trade labour,” he says. “All of these things are important, but ultimately, the singular ‘score card’ is carbon output. Carbon is a universal idea that we need to rally around. It has to be your north star.” To the uninitiated, carbon emissions released into the atmosphere trap heat and warm the planet, hence the term “greenhouse gas.” According to the 2020 Drawdown Review, approximately 21 per cent of all greenhouse gases today come from industry — i.e., the production of goods like clothing, cars, laptops, etc., and the associated raw materials sourcing and waste disposal.

Allbirds’s ambition is to one day reach a “net zero” carbon footprint, and the company’s next step toward that goal was to conduct life cycle assessments across the brand’s entire supply chain. The team calculated the carbon footprint of every single sneaker and sock down to a 10th of a kilogram – and today, Allbirds is the first fashion brand to label its products with those numbers.

A pair of classic Wool Runners emits 7.2 kilograms of carbon dioxide, while the Runner-Up high-tops release 10.5 kilograms. The Tree Breezer wooly ballet flats create 5.3 kilograms. Those numbers are the result of calculating every step in the shoe-making process, from the materials to the packaging to the shipping. An infographic shows that nearly half of the Tree Breezers’ footprint is due to the materials, and the other half is attributed to manufacturing; only 0.1 kilograms comes from actually wearing the shoes.

Brown compared the concept to the way our food labels show calories. “No one really understands what a calorie is, but they use it as a guideline to make decisions,” Brown says. “It isn’t the only reason we choose what we eat, though. That isn’t what we’re suggesting — we aren’t saying you should stop eating ice cream. We’re saying you should be aware of the impact and choices you make, so you can make better ones.”

That barometer just doesn’t exist for clothes or shoes or anything else we purchase; in fact, the average person probably doesn’t know the carbon footprint of anything they consume, whether it’s a handbag or a transatlantic flight. Is 10.5 kilograms of carbon considered a lot for a pair of trainers? Allbirds confirmed the average pair of running shoes has a 12.5-kilogram carbon output, and offered some other helpful comparisons: A pair of jeans comes in at 29.6 kilograms, while a T-shirt emits 13.6 kilograms. An economy flight from New York to San Francisco emits 688 kilograms, while a banana’s footprint is less than one kilogram. “You have to think about carbon in terms of how you travel and eat and shop – all of these things add up,” Brown says. “It’s about understanding how the small actions and decisions we make contribute to the global emissions we need to collectively reduce.”

Brown is hopeful that if every shoe, jacket, and bicycle clearly shows its carbon footprint, it could greatly influence consumer behaviour. Of course, the first step is getting other companies on board: “Our great hope is that this will catalyse other people to share the science [behind their products], and it’s going to take some time,” Brown says. “The good thing is that this invites competition – if there are people who see our numbers and think they could be better, that’s great. We all need to be working incredibly hard toward making products with a net-zero impact. That problem isn’t going to be solved just by Allbirds – it will be solved by sharing information and pushing each other.”

Brown is confident that other brands will join him, particularly in light of the current Covid-19 crisis. “We’re seeing the incredible power of people wanting to help and businesses stepping up,” he says. “It gives you hope to see how people can work together in pretty impressive ways. This isn’t the time to point out who’s doing everything right and who’s wrong – everyone is welcome to this conversation.”