Allbirds Made Wool Shoes a Thing. Now It’s Making Trainers from Trees

Welcome to Talking Points, a series that looks at what makes certain products worth talking about, brought to you by Gear Patrol Studios.

Over the last few decades, performance footwear has gotten better in just about every way imaginable. That’s thanks in large part to the development of technical materials — more breathable waterproof membranes, cushier foams, grippier rubber compounds.

The only problem? Most of the techy ingredients used by big brands come from fossil fuels.

That’s where Allbirds — the brand that popularized the use of natural materials in performance footwear — is different. And it’s latest silhouette, the Tree Glider, is a perfect example of how the brand achieves modern performance with natural materials.

Made from nature since day one

Merino wool has long been viewed as one of the most technical natural fibers in the world. It’s been a mainstay in baselayers and sweaters since well before “being outdoorsy” was even a thing. But in shoes? Not so much.

That is, until Allbirds came along and proved that wool shoes weren’t just comparable to those made with petroleum-based textiles, they were better. Wool is soft, breathable and odor-resistant, meaning Allbirds can even be worn without socks, gasp!

Since its inception in 2016, Allbirds has been crafting simply designed, exceptionally comfortable kicks with innovative, naturally derived materials like its sugarcane-based midsole technology SweetFoam.