Better Health for All

Allbirds' core products, footwear and apparel, are generally health-neutral, offering modest benefits like comfort, temperature regulation, and odor control, but do not have a significant direct positive or negative health impact.

There is no evidence of revenue from products with direct negative health outcomes. The company has policies and procedures for employee health, safety, and wellness, including a Retail Health & Safety Task Force that meets weekly and conducts quarterly operational audits in stores. Allbirds is committed to creating a safe and supportive workplace environment. The company provides full-time employees with 16 hours of paid time off annually for volunteer activities. Allbirds employs multi-factor authentication and other security measures to protect sensitive data, such as customer information. The company donates returned shoes that cannot be resold to Soles4Souls.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

None of Allbirds' employees are represented by a labor union, and the company is not a party to any collective bargaining agreement, indicating 0% coverage.

The company's FY20 pay equity review found no statistically significant pay differences across gender or ethnicity, and it states that it compensates all employees equitably. However, a broader industry article notes that women earned 84 cents for every dollar a man earned as of July 2020, and highlights significant gender gaps in equity-based awards in the fashion industry. The overall turnover rate in FY20 was 46%, with approximately two-thirds being voluntary. Allbirds has had no significant labor law infractions in the past two years. The company offers employer-sponsored health insurance, dental, and vision care insurance to its U.S. employees, but specific coverage percentages are not provided, and benefits vary outside the U.S.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Allbirds requires its tier-1 suppliers to undergo social audits by a third-party annually.

For ZQ certified farms, audits are conducted every three years. The company's Supplier Code of Conduct, which outlines ethical and responsible sourcing expectations, is agreed to and signed by all suppliers. However, the evidence does not specify that these are *enforceable* ethical-sourcing clauses. Corrective action plans (CAPs) following audits can take up to 9 weeks (63 days) to finalize.

Honest & Fair Business

Allbirds, Inc. has established a formal whistleblower protection policy, which includes a confidential and anonymous financial concern hotline and a web form for anonymous reporting.

This policy was implemented as mandated by an SEC ruling on Audit Committees and allows for the submission of complaints regarding accounting, internal controls, or auditing matters. However, there is no evidence provided regarding the existence or independence of investigation processes for these reports.

Kind to Animals

Allbirds uses ZQ Merino wool, which is its only animal fiber.

However, PETA investigations have exposed alleged cruelty on ZQ-certified farms, including workers beating, stomping on, cutting, and slitting the throats of conscious sheep. ZQ Merino's certification program excludes slaughter and transportation, and allows sheep to be deprived of food and water for up to 48 hours. ZQ farms are audited approximately once every three years. Allbirds states it aims to shift sourcing entirely to more sustainably farmed fiber by mid-decade and that Merino wool accounts for about a quarter of its natural materials. The company also uses discarded crab shells, which PETA links to endangered whales being caught in fishing gear and climate change threatening snow crab populations. Allbirds replaces petroleum-based plastics with natural alternatives like wool, eucalyptus fibers, and sugar cane.

No War, No Weapons

Allbirds requires suppliers to adhere to a Supplier Code of Conduct that promotes safe, lawful, humane, and ethical manufacturing practices, drawing upon ILO Core Labor Standards.

The company strives to audit all factories producing its goods at least once per year, with follow-up audits for corrective action plan progress. Factories rated as Orange (High Risk) or Red (Zero Tolerance) after the initial audit are not approved. Allbirds has a Human Rights Policy and has contracted with Businesses for Social Responsibility (BSR) to create a Human Rights Policy aligned with the UN Guiding Principles, expected by the end of 2022. The company updated its Responsible Sourcing audit framework and completed training with 100% of its Tier 1 manufacturers on the updated framework.

Planet-Friendly Business

Allbirds reported total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions of 21,453 tCO₂e in 2023, representing an estimated annual decline of over 15% from 2020.

The company has an SBTi-validated science-based target to reduce absolute Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 42% by 2030 from a 2020 baseline, aligned with a 1.5°C reduction pathway, with an interim target to halve per-unit emissions by 2025. Allbirds labels 100% of its products with their carbon footprint and has open-sourced its life cycle assessment methodology, which was third-party verified against ISO 14067. The company invests in carbon credits from projects certified to internationally recognized offset standards, including AFOLU, IFM, and REDD+ projects, covering 40% of its footprint. Allbirds collected Tier 1 factory performance data through third-party audits. The company partners with projects like Envira Amazonia for rainforest preservation and Argentina Regenerative Wool for sustainable wool production. One factory was rated "Orange" (near-term improvement required) in 2022. Allbirds has a net-zero target for 2030 and aims for a "near zero" product by 2030. Packaging updates in 2022 resulted in a 1% reduction in shipping carbon footprint, and a packaging redesign led to a 7% reduction in carbon emissions.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

The provided articles do not mention any cultural appropriation incidents.

No specific data is available for formal partnerships with indigenous or local community groups, revenue reinvested in local community development, cultural impact assessment protocols, local employment ratios, grievance mechanisms, FPIC participation, community governance inclusion, cultural preservation investment, local procurement share, indigenous supplier count, cultural site protection, social license to operate, charitable giving to cultural heritage organizations, community fund allocation, language inclusivity, cultural incident response, or cultural training completion.

Safe & Smart Tech

Allbirds has not experienced any known material cybersecurity incidents, including no material breaches in FY19 or FY20.

The company conducts company-wide security awareness training, including regular phishing simulations, and requires security training for all new employees. Allbirds encrypts personally identifiable information when sent over the Internet using secure socket layer technology and utilizes cloud RADIUS. The company's privacy policy outlines the types of personal information collected, how it's used and shared, and provides multiple points of contact for customers to inquire about data. Users can review, update, modify, deactivate, or delete their accounts and opt-out of various communications. Allbirds employs multi-factor authentication and uses individual usernames and passwords for network login. The company regularly reviews security programs, policies, and audits for controls, and may review server logs for security purposes. Data security is built into the company’s technology strategy. Allbirds limits access to company resources based on user roles and real-time access needs, and retains personal information only as long as necessary for stated purposes. The company's privacy policies and practices are designed to align with GDPR and CCPA, and it monitors emerging regulations. Allbirds executes contracts with service providers prohibiting unauthorized use or sharing of personal information.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Allbirds uses packaging made from 90% post-consumer recycled cardboard.

The company integrates circular design principles, including a closed-loop process for recycling scraps and unused materials, and a focus on product durability and maintainability, with a goal to double product lifespan by 2025. Waste reduction initiatives include minimizing waste through material selection, maximizing material use, and recycling. The company has not reported any waste disposal violations in the provided articles. Allbirds has company-wide waste reduction targets, committing to halving its per-product carbon footprint by 2025 and reducing it to near zero by 2030. The company educates customers by disclosing the carbon footprint of each product on its label and open-sourcing its carbon footprint methodology.