A step in the right direction

Improving sustainability in the footwear industry is no easy feat.

Producing a standard sneaker generates around 14kg of CO2, but a pioneering initiative has led to the launch of M0.0NSHOT Zero, a net-zero carbon shoe from Allbirds.

M0.0NSHOT, pictured above, is billed as the world’s first net-zero shoe without relying on carbon offsets. For now, this ambitious project is limited to just 500 pairs, each priced at $200 and available exclusively in five stores: New York, London, Dubai, Seoul, and Tokyo.

By open-sourcing its materials and methodology, however, Allbirds aims to encourage industry-wide adoption with the goal of challenging conventional practices and inspire meaningful change.

The net-zero shoe was first unveiled as a prototype in 2023 and is crafted from carbon-negative regenerative wool, methane-capture bioplastic, and sugarcane-based packaging and midsoles.

Each component is carefully selected to ensure the entire lifecycle - from material sourcing to production - maintains a net-zero carbon footprint, its maker says.

"It’s taken our entire arsenal of learnings of more than a decade to make this happen, and yet, we recognise hard work remains ahead of us - to continue to do better in our own business and to inspire the industry to join us."

The wool is sourced from Lake Hawea Station in New Zealand, a regenerative farm producing premium merino wool that sequesters more carbon than it emits. Allbirds applied the wool across the entire shoe so as to offset the more carbon-intensive parts of production to help it achieve net zero.

The shoe's midsole foam is made from carbon-negative, sugarcane-derived green EVA, and with about 70% bio-based content, significantly reduces its reliance on the petroleum-based synthetics typically found in conventional midsoles.

“We are proud to (finally) launch the world’s first net-zero carbon shoe, without offsets, the M0.0NSHOT Zero," Allbirds co-founder Tim Brown said.

"It’s not perfect, and it is only 500 pairs. No doubt it will provoke scrutiny (which we welcome) and hopefully it will spark some discussion. More than anything, we hope it stands as an example of doing over talking and of creating over just criticising.

"It’s taken our entire arsenal of learnings of more than a decade to make this happen, and yet, we recognise hard work remains ahead of us - to continue to do better in our own business and to inspire the industry to join us.”

In the bag

Thaely is another sustainable footwear startup that's making strides, in this case with an eco-friendly sneaker made entirely from upcycled plastic bags, bottles and rubber.

Indian entrepreneur Ashay Bhave is leading the initiative, sourcing waste plastic bags from homes, offices, and stores in and around Delhi. These bags are cleaned, stacked and pressed to create ThaelyTex, a fabric that mimics the look and feel of leather without the use of harmful chemicals or toxic byproducts.

For the toe box, lining, laces, and tote, Thaely uses a fabric created from recycled PET plastic bottles called rPET (Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate). rPET maintains the same quality as virgin polyester but requires 59% less energy to produce.

The sole is crafted from recycled rubber sourced from discarded shoe soles, tyres, and other industrial waste and it also incorporates algae tech as an alternative to conventional petrochemical-based foams.

The shoe box is made from recycled paper and is dyed using waste coffee grounds and thanks to embedded seeds, if planted, it can grow into a basil plant in just 10 days.

All up, each pair of Thaely shoes repurposes 10 upcycled plastic bags and 12 recycled PET bottles.

In India, the industry for waste pickers is largely unregulated, so workers often face exploitation. Bhave says his company is strongly committed to ethical sourcing, fair wages, and safe working conditions for its waste management staff.

Gaining traction

Closer to home, Australian shoemaker Bared Footwear is progressively removing synthetic materials from its range.

The company took a significant step in this direction last year by introducing PLIANT, a fully natural rubber sole developed by US green chemistry startup NFW.

PLIANT uses responsibly sourced Hevea brasiliensis rubber combined with a patented plant-based curative, instead of synthetic polymers and petrochemicals which release microplastics with every step. PLIANT soles are also recyclable, circular, and biodegrade safely at the end of their lifecycle.

“Bared is proud to be the first Australian footwear label to introduce PLIANT. NFW is the master behind our plant-based vegan upper material, MIRUM,” the company said last year.

“Sharing the same values when it comes to creating bio-based products, we turned to NFW to source a better material for our outsoles.”