After shoes and casualwear, Allbirds is taking on the next category: Under the name "Natural Run Apparel," the U.S. company today launches an activewear line with a focus on running.
The range for men and women offers leggings, bike shorts, shorts, tank tops and T-shirts made from natural fibers such as sustainable merino wool and Allbirds' signature eucalyptus fiber. The 'Natural Leggings', for example, are made from 43% FSC-certified eucalyptus fiber, 30% recycled nylon, 18% ZQ-certified merino wool and 9% spandex. Retail prices range from €55 for tank tops to €115 for leggings.
As with its footwear, Allbirds provides the pieces in its running line with CO2 labels to document its environmental footprint. This ranges from 4.7 kg of CO2 to 14.5 kg of CO2 per item. By way of comparison, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have calculated that the production of a regular T-shirt made of polyester generates 5.5 kg of CO2 equivalents; a cotton T-shirt pollutes the environment with 11 kg of CO2, according to a study commissioned by Otto Group.
Shorts and T-shirts are made from natural fibers such as sustainable merino wool and eucalyptus fiber.
So even Allbirds products are not yet climate-neutral compared to the petroleum-based plastic range of its competitors. Nevertheless, the company emphasizes that it will continue to focus on designing a run collection that has very low CO2 emissions due to the use of natural materials. By 2025, Allbirds aims to make 75% of its products from natural or recycled materials.
Allbirds spent two years developing the line. They achieved industry benchmarks in breathability, sweat absorption, quick drying and stretch after numerous tests, with the Natural Leggings proving to be twice as breathable as leggings made of synthetic materials, Allbirds says.
Allbirds' Natural Run Apparel line launches today.
“Petroleum has been powering our workouts for decades. Nearly all performance apparel is exclusively made from oil-based plastic fibers like polyester, nylon, and spandex because they're crazy cheap and easily accessible – but they also happen to be terrible for the planet. We believe that consumers shouldn't have to make a tradeoff between their physical fitness and the health of the planet, so we doubled-down on unlocking the incredible performance potential of natural materials. The result is activewear you can hit the ground running in, while cutting carbon emissions and microplastic pollution in the process," says Joey Zwillinger, co-founder and co-CEO, Allbirds.
READ ALSO:
The Brands
Allbirds x Adidas: David meets Goliath
Read more →
Materials
How to combine penguin feathers, Ottchil and merino wool
Read more →
Brands
Allbirds: ‘The right amount of nothing’
Read more →
