Allbirds Tree Flyer running for real sustainability
The popular Allbirds brand pushes the boundaries of sustainable footwear with its new Tree Flyer running shoe.
Sep 2, 2022
Allbirds says the Tree Flyer is a performance running shoe that has been created at the intersection of innovative technology, renewable natural materials, and instantaneous material circularity.
Allbirds’ New Zealand-born co-founder, Tim Brown, says the new Tree Flyer is shattering the limits of what is achievable with natural materials one mile at a time.
Utilising natural materials and innovative technology to deliver more bounce and energy return, sports footwear brand Allbirds says its new Tree Flyer running shoe pushes the boundaries of what is achievable with sustainable practices.
The recently announced Allbirds Tree Flyer is a performance running shoe created at the intersection of innovative technology, renewable natural materials, and instantaneous material circularity. The result is a shoe with more propulsion, and a 70% rebound rate that helps give runners more energy with every step.
And with a carbon footprint of just 9.92kg CO2e, all of which is offset to zero, Allbirds says its latest shoe is ready to run circles around other shoes made with plastic.
The Tree Flyer is a cushioned running shoe designed to handle everyday miles, or tackle a dedicated road race, and brings to life Allbirds’s commitment to unlocking the performance potential of natural materials, and manufacturing processes with a lower carbon footprint.
Allbirds co-founder and co-CEO, Tim Brown, says that for many runners, the idea of running in a “sustainable” shoe has typically meant one thing: sacrifice. Sacrifice on the quality of the shoe construction, sacrifice on the weight and comfort of the shoe, and sacrifice on performance. But not now.
“The Tree Flyer is a true technical and environmental achievement, and demonstrates that the right mix of expertise, diligence, and vision can lead to ground-breaking innovations,” he says.
“Getting this mix right, without a runner's performance or the planet left behind, represents one of the greatest challenges and opportunities for our team, and all footwear brands. I’m proud of this team for what they’ve achieved with the Tree Flyer. At Allbirds, we’re setting out to prove that you can create a running shoe that is truly better for the planet and pushes you to perform.”
The Tree Flyer utilises a first-of-its-kind technology called SwiftFoam in the construction of the midsole. The result is a shoe, made for runners of all stripes, with the highest rebound rate yet achieved from an Allbirds show.
While midsoles are usually made from petroleum and 100% synthetic, SwiftFoam leverages natural castor beans, a renewable natural resource that has a 20% lower carbon footprint than a petroleum-based alternative.
Allbirds state that nearly 100% of the excess waste created while making the midsole is instantaneously recycled to craft the external heel counter. In this way material circularity happens right away.
One of the dynamic results of using SwiftFoam’s low energy process is the unique marbling aesthetic on the Flyer midsole. So, no two midsoles are alike.
The Tree Flyer’s bouncy, airy SwiftFoam midsoles are approximately 30% more responsive, 25% lighter and require less energy to manufacture than the company’s existing SweetFoam material, which Allbirds says is a testament to the San Francisco-headquartered company’s commitment to sustainable innovation and constant improvement. The Tree Flyer is also the company’s lightest running shoe to date.
The Tree Flyer went through extensive development and testing in Allbirds’ innovation lab, and on the road. Countless iterations were developed to perfect this shoe. Over 115 runners tested the shoe over 6,000 miles, across a wide array of conditions and climates, to prove its performance.
