NZ Wool shoe company Allbirds now making shoes from eucalyptus trees
- By: "Farm Tender" News
- Ag Company News
- Mar 21, 2018
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Allbirds, the San Francisco-based shoe brand best known for their shoes made from wool and said to be Barack Obama-approved and a favourite of tech executives, have revealed their latest textile innovation using eucalyptus called Tree.
"Since the beginning, we've always thought of Allbirds as a sustainable material innovation company just as much as a style brand," says Tim Brown, the New Zealand-born co-founder. "When we started with wool, it wasn't just about launching a new category of shoes, it was about creating a brand that was challenging the status quo and rooted in doing better things in a better way – whether that's through the materials we use, or our B-Corp certified supply chain, we are always looking for new ways to create incredible comfort with sustainable, natural materials. The launch of Tree is the next step on a journey that is hopefully just beginning." This is also the first shoe to be FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. "We think it is a major step forward in footwear and we're excited to continue pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a sustainable brand."
The original merino wool shoe made waves for being comfortable, lightweight, and not needing to wear socks, but as co-founder Joey Zwillinger points out, also sometimes was too warm. "So we combined the cooling sensation of this unique fibre with a three-dimensional knitting process to engineer a soft, light and breezy feel. In a nod to our Wool line of shoes, we incorporate the same castor bean oil-derived insoles, lined with our proprietary brushed merino wool fabric to elevate the comfort experience where softness matters most."
The Tree line has been in the works for over two years. Says Brown: "We created countless prototypes and carefully refined the product and materials to get to a place that we like to call 'the right amount of nothing.'"
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