Athletic footwear brands Adidas and Allbirds announced they have begun collaborating to produce a sneaker with the “lowest ever carbon footprint.” Allbirds and Adidas cite the issue of carbon emissions in their industry, which has hit around 700 million tons of CO2 per year. Even though the brands are typically competitors, they are teaming up to innovate new methods for manufacturing, product shipment and more to achieve this goal. The alliance marks the first time Adidas has ever collaborated with a non-Adidas-related footwear brand.
This alliance, seeing two billion-dollar brands combine forces, is a huge signal – not only for sustainable fashion labels, but for all purpose-driven businesses out there. We predict Adidas and Allbirds will massively boost a trend that we at TrendWatching call OPEN SOURCE SOLUTIONS. It’s about brands putting aside their rivalries to work together and solve shared, major challenges – challenges that can’t possibly be solved by a single company, like sustainability. You already know plenty of brands are addressing environmental concerns, via recycled products or reducing waste or setting a sustainability goal. But an almost humbling move to work with a competitor, to actually change how things are done, possibly for future generations, in an entire industry? This is what will make a more profound impact on consumers, and the world!
With partnerships like Adidas/Allbirds heightening expectations, we expect to see more eco-conscious brands sharing methodologies and resources. And perhaps the unconventional materials they’re using, like coffee beans to create face masks and even apple peels (check out these new sneakers)! Which OPEN SOURCE SOLUTION could you team up with another brand to deploy? How could your organization, in Allbirds CEO Tim Brown’s words, create a future that’s “more about collaboration than it is competition”?
Stay healthy,
The TrendWatching content team
