Often on the side of any container of food, there’s a blurb outlining the calories per serving. Having access to the nutritional value of one’s food can help one improve one’s health and awareness of what one ingests. Similarly, providing information about how much carbon is contained in a product, can enhance a customer’s understanding of what a carbon footprint encompasses and how it affects the vitality of our planet.

For Allbirds, the San Francisco-based footwear company, counting carbon should be as transparent and accessible as counting calories. This mindset has informed their latest initiative, Carbon Footprint, which launched this past April. This initiative has made the company the first fashion brand to label not one but every item they make with its carbon footprint – basically the equivalent of KG of carbon dioxide emitted in both the production and use of the product. 

By taking note of repeated calls to curb carbon emissions, the Allbirds team realised that it’s hard to curb what you can’t measure. Guided by a belief that consumers should be aware of their carbon consumption, the Allbirds team decided to create informative labels that can provide customers with a better understanding of how much carbon dioxide is emitted in the production and use of all of their products.

“We realized there was a need to even the playing field and make it easy for customers to compare the impact of the things they buy,” said Hana Kajimura, Sustainability Lead. “If more brands started labelling the emissions that went into their products, we’d be able to eliminate so much confusion around which brands are taking sustainability seriously.”

From its inception, Allbirds has positioned itself as a brand that takes sustainability more than seriously. Their latest endeavour is indicative of the brand’s deepening commitment to producing sustainable products whilst educating customers about the impact of their consumption. By eliminating confusion, brands such as Allbirds can propel customers towards making more enlightened choices about their purchases and the impact each product has on the environment whilst inspiring other brands to follow suit.

Hopefully soon, we will all be counting carbon more regularly. 

Spotlight On is a monthly digital feature from Global Fashion Agenda highlighting sustainability updates from our partners and extended network. Read more about our partners and network.