A MOMENT WITH ALLBIRDS' FOUNDER TIM BROWN
TEXT: LOGAN VERLAQUE IMAGES ALLBIRDS
TIM BROWN, THE FOUNDER AND CEO BEHIND SUSTAINABLE FOOTWEAR COMPANY, ALLBIRDS, on “making things in a better way.”
The idea for Allbirds first came to founder and CEO Tim Brown when he was playing professional football in his native, New Zealand. He wanted a simple sneaker, free of logos and loud colors, and with a background in design, he set out to create it. Through it all, Brown sought to create such a sneaker without synthetics and with sustainable materials. Here, Brown talks us through just how he brought his idea into reality.
LESS IS MORE__________.
Resolved.
The last item I purchased was a __________.
A suit from Crane Brothers in Auckland, New Zealand.
The last thing I got rid of was_________.
I gave a shirt that I had stopped wearing to my old man. A tough decision but the right one for both parties.
The most important item to me is __________.
The first ever pair of Allbirds! That (true story) were stolen from a display case at our reception at our HQ in San Francisco. If you’re reading this, please return them.
My favorite shoe from allbirds is __________.
Aside from a new project for next year that I am particularly excited about I love my Charcoal Tree Toppers.
TIM BROWN
Founder & ceo of Allbirds
on the inspiration to create allbirds as a sustainable brand
As a professional football player in my native New Zealand, I used to receive lots of shoes from the major sportswear brands that were flashy, over-logoed and over-designed. I had a background in design and the idea, while I was still playing football, to create a simple and more comfortable shoe that wasn’t made from synthetics. In New Zealand, sheep outnumber humans by six-to-one, so wool immediately came to mind as the perfect material, as it’s temperature-regulating and moisture-wicking. I began a very long research and development process that carried through my sporting career, the 2010 FIFA World Cup that I attended with New Zealand, and, ultimately business school in London after I retired. Eventually the idea took me to San Francisco, where I teamed up with my co-founder, Joey Zwillinger. Joey had been working in the renewable materials space for quite a while, and his sustainabiity expertise was crucial in defining the Allbirds mission.
on the brand’s mantra, “better shoes in a better way.”
We believe in “making better things in a better way” and are out to prove that comfort, design and sustainability aren’t mutually exclusive, nor specific to just footwear. While care for the environment is at the core of our brand, we know that people don’t buy sustainable products, they buy great products. This means that we are constantly innovating and pushing boundaries within the footwear and fashion industries to ensure that our products aren’t just better for the environment, they’re also better for the consumer. In our first three years, we launched three natural material innovations, including Merino wool, eucalyptus tree fibre and SweetFoamTM, which is made of sustainably sourced sugarcane. In August of this year, we announced our fourth innovation, TrinoTM, which is a super-yarn that blends Merino wool with Tree and is used in our new sock collection. Each of these materials provide an incredible comfort experience for our customers, while also being sourced from nature.
“We truly believe that customers shouldn’t have to make a choice between a good product and a sustainable one.”
on the inspiration for the shoes’ minimalist designs
One of Allbirds’s company values is to “simplify naturally” and this permeates our entire business – from the products we make, to our packaging and our branding, to how we operate as a company. When we launched in 2016, we took a different approach than most other footwear brands and launched with only one silhouette, the Wool Runner, which was the only style we sold for a full 14 months. As a direct-to-consumer business, this gave us the opportunity to really listen to our customers’ needs to refine and improve on the product. We call this design ethos “the right amount of nothing” and it is a philosophy that strips away any unnecessary details to create something simple and incredibly functional for everyday use.
ON working with natural materials, including wool, sugarcane and eucalyptus.
At our core, we see ourselves as a sustainable material innovations company. The footwear industry is still very old fashioned and has overlooked natural materials in favour of cheap, synthetic alternatives for too long. Wherever we can, we find new uses for materials that naturally exist right in front of us. So far, this has included working with Merino wool, eucalyptus tree fibre and sugar cane. These natural materials aren’t just kinder to the planet, they also provide unique comfort benefits for our consumers. It took years to find manufacturers that were willing to experiment with materials that had never been used in footwear before and shared our dedication to sustainability, but we stuck with it and the result is an approach to footwear design and manufacturing that is quite different.
on allbirds “going carbon neutral in 2019.”
We’ve treated sustainability as a non-negotiable from the start, and our recent announcement that we’re going carbon neutral is the next extension of this thinking. On Earth Day this year, we introduced the Allbirds Carbon Fund, a self-imposed carbon tax that supports 100% carbon neutrality through emissions reductions projects. This fund accounts for all of our corporate, production and shipping activities, from the sheep on the farm to our employees’ commute to work. We know any footprint is too large, so we’re doing our part to ensure nothing we do as a company negatively impacts the environment.
While it’s encouraging that an increasing number of consumers are asking what they can do to be more sustainable, the burden should be on businesses to enact change. Of course it’s important to be mindful about what you buy, how you travel, and the waste you create, but this problem can only be solved if the private sector takes responsibility for its share of the issue.
on thinking before you buy
We truly believe that customers shouldn’t have to make a choice between a good product and a sustainable one. If motivated, businesses have the tools they need to be able to provide great, environmentally-friendly options to consumers. However, in the meantime, we’re working with a number of different groups that are trying to make it easier for consumers to be able to tell which brands are trying to make a difference.
As well as being a B Corp, we recently joined the Global Fashion Agenda – a group of like-minded brands working towards a more sustainable future. We also work with third party certifications such as ZQ Merino and the Forest Stewardship Council, who hold our materials and practices to the highest standards. To ensure your next purchase is ethically sourced and produced, you can always turn to these types of groups and organizations for peace of mind.
But, more than anything, we think consumers should strive to work for and do business with certified carbon neutral businesses.
On the future of allbirds
Climate change is the problem of our generation, and businesses can either be the engine that solves it or continue to contribute to the problem. Currently, the fashion industry's emissions are equal to that of the entire European Union and 25 billion pairs of shoes are produced each year. While we are far from perfect, we’re going to continue to work to make great, sustainable products and doing what we can to influence change in the industry. We’re still such a young company but we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far and have quite a few exciting things in the pipeline. Watch this space!
