Allbirds: Decarbonizing Fashion (A) and (B)

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 622-024, 625-004, 625-005, and 625-702. The Allbirds: Decarbonizing Fashion (A) case introduces Allbirds as a footwear startup not only focused on simple design, comfort, and sustainable natural materials but on decarbonizing the wider fashion industry. Background material highlights the growing environmental impact of the footwear industry, including its use of leather and fossil-fuel-based materials and its focus on shorter product lifespans. Allbirds’ product development process, by contrast, collaborated with suppliers to develop natural materials including wool and sugarcane to substitute for conventional petroleum-based materials and leather. The case is set in 2021, when Allbirds was extending its product range into apparel and expanding beyond its online store to open more retail stores around the world. Allbirds was freely sharing its know-how and material innovations with its competitors to try to scale its efforts to decarbonize fashion, yet the company was also keen to remain ahead and differentiated based on its shoes’ comfort, minimalist design, and sustainable natural materials.

The Allbirds: Decarbonizing Fashion (B) case encourages students to assess Allbirds’ product development and go-to-market strategies now that Allbirds is a publicly listed company. The (B) case provides a 2024 update on Allbirds including its initial public offering, mounting losses, decreasing share price, and the release of a strategic transformation plan. It also covers co-founders Tim Brown’s and Joey Zwillinger’s transition out of the co-CEO role.