Sustainable footwear label Allbirds and streetwear legend Jeff Staple have collaborated to create a shoe that makes a statement for more eco-consciousness. For this, Allbirds’ 2020 sneaker “Tree Dasher” awarded by Time Magazine as “Best Invention of the Year” was literally turned inside out: The upper of the shoe was turned inside out by Staple to reveal the innovation, materials and construction of the Dasher.
Each pair now prominently features its own carbon footprint, produced during manufacture, rather than hidden on the inside of the shoe. “This not only serves as a striking design element, but also focuses on the issue of CO2 in the fashion industry. This large number is a reminder that nothing comes for free and at the same time an open call for the footwear industry and consumers to live more consciously,” Allbirds said in a press release.
The new collaboration is themed “sustainable is the new cool” and aims to “give a constructive discussion about sustainability in fashion,” adds Allbirds. The aim is to focus more attention on consumption in order to further educate the public about carbon, continue the discourse on it and raise questions about sustainability.
The collaboration began as an investigation when Staple, creative mind and founder of the Reed Art Department and Staple Pigeon, had the idea of turning the Tree Dasher inside out to see what exactly went into making a performance shoe out of the nature flows in.
“What he found was not only an intricately engineered blend of sustainable materials like ZQ-certified merino wool, rapidly renewable sugar cane and sustainable eucalyptus fiber, but also a distinctive, almost anatomical design that uncompromisingly combines performance with comfort,” summarizes Allbirds.
The Staple x Allbirds “Hyperstrike” and “Inline” sneaker will be launched as limited editions worldwide on January 20th, 2022. No information has yet been given about the prices.
