As Allbirds tries to deepen its sustainability commitment, the apparel and footwear brand has designed zero-carbon sneakers, called M0.0nShot.

Dubbed “the world’s first zero-carbon shoe,” M0.0nShot is made from carbon-negative materials such as merino wool, sugarcane-based foam, and bioplastic eyelets manufactured from a polymer formed from converted methane.

According to Allbirds, the product has a carbon footprint of 0.0 kilos CO2e, compared to the industry average of 14 kilograms (about 30 pounds) CO2e.

The shoe will be unveiled in June during the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen.

“Creating a net zero carbon shoe that is commercially viable and scalable is the culmination of our entire back catalogue of work,” said Tim Brown, co-founder and co-CEO of Allbirds.

“M0.0nShot isn’t a silver bullet for the climate crisis — it’s a proof-point that, when we take sustainability seriously and are laser-focused on carbon reduction, we can make incredible breakthroughs.”

Allbirds said that while this may be a modest footprint for a shoe, it represents a “major leap” for the business. So the company is open-sourcing the toolbox that brought M0.0nShot to zero and urging others to follow in its footsteps.

M0.0nShot is the result of years of effort and the New Zealand company’s commitment to steadily decrease carbon in its operations and products from its inception. It developed SweetFoam, its first carbon-negative substance, in 2018, which influenced the new foam utilised in M0.0nShot.

Allbirds was the first fashion brand to label products with carbon footprints in 2020. A year later, the brand announced a collaboration with Adidas to create the world’s lowest-carbon shoe, the Adizero x Allbirds.

Further reading: From data to farming: How Puma, Allbirds are tackling emissions