Audubon & Allbirds Launch Imaginative Bird-Inspired Earth Day Shoe Campaign

NEW YORK – Today, the National Audubon Society expands its portfolio of unconventional brand collaborations through an Earth Day campaign with the booming sustainable shoe brand Allbirds to create a limited-edition collection inspired by climate-endangered birds. The startup mentality of Audubon, the 114-year-old leading non-profit conservation organization, found the perfect fit in the environmentally-minded shoe brand to raise awareness and funds around its mission to protect birds and the habitats they need, today and tomorrow.

“While Audubon has deep roots and a long history, we’re constantly reinventing ourselves. We’re nine years into the New Audubon: we aren’t your grandparents' Audubon anymore but we think they’d be proud of what we’ve become,” said David Yarnold (@david_yarnold), president and CEO of the National Audubon Society. “When I bought my first pair of Allbirds, I was sold on the comfort, the quality and the message. Like Audubon, taking care of our planet and birds is what drives Allbirds. They’re a model for corporate engagement and we’re immensely grateful for their commitment to conserving our planet and curbing the effects of climate change for birds and people.” 

"Allbirds and Audubon are tightly aligned in our shared commitment to preserving nature," said Joey Zwillinger and Tim Brown, co-founders and co-CEOs of Allbirds. "Our primary goal as a company is to create great products that are as sustainable as possible, and we're constantly looking for partners who are similarly dedicated to environmental causes. The health of birds is a strong indicator for the health of the planet, and Audubon has been working for over a century to take care of our friends in flight. We're proud to celebrate Earth Day by donating all the proceeds from our limited-edition collection to this incredible grassroots organization."

Beginning April 15, Allbirds celebrates Earth Day with the release of one limited-edition shoe style per day for five days. Each shoe style is inspired by a bird species that was identified as climate-threatened or climate-endangered by Audubon’s scientists in the groundbreaking 2014 Birds and Climate Change Report. The collection reimagines the distinct personalities and colors of five birds in the popular Tree Runner and Wool Runner lines, which are made from natural and renewable materials like ZQ-certified merino wool, eucalyptus fiber and recycled plastic bottles.

The climate-threatened and climate-endangered species featured in the collection include:

• The Painted Redstart found in the Southwest, the Scarlet Tanager that migrates long distances, and the voracious insect-eating Mountain Bluebird, all of which have summer homes that are shrinking and shifting so rapidly due to climate change that they may not be able to adapt fast enough.
• The Pygmy Nuthatch, a bird that tends to gather in fussy flocks, and the Allen’s Hummingbird, that only lays two eggs per clutch, are two tiny birds included in the collection that are climate threatened because their summer and winter homes are shrinking and shifting dramatically due to rising temperatures and the impact of climate change. 

As part of the partnership, Audubon teamed up with Allbirds for a branded content campaign in The New York Times to creatively illustrate how birds and people are inextricably linked – that birds tell us about the health of our environment, and ultimately, what’s good for birds is good for people.

The collaboration with Allbirds marks the latest partnership in the 2016 – 2020 Audubon Strategic Plan to make Audubon the most effective conservation network in America and expand the Audubon wingspan across the country, hemisphere and generations.

Audubon has proven to be an influential voice in conservation and championing legislation that protect birds and people, including most recently leading the seven-state Drought Contingency Plan on Colorado River water shortages and spearheading a $1.7 billion science-based, comprehensive Gulf Restoration Plan –  the largest ecosystem restoration effort ever attempted. Learn more about Audubon’s conservation achievements in 2018 at https://www.audubon.org/news/highlights-and-wins-2018.

From reimagining beneficial partnerships to revamping conservation efforts across migratory flyways, the century-old organization has experienced a transformation under David Yarnold’s leadership since 2012. The Harvard Business School studied this change in the case study titled, “Audubon in 2017: The Turnaround”.  

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About the National Audubon Society

The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon’s state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more at www.audubon.org and @audubonsociety.

About Allbirds

Allbirds is dedicated to making better things in a better way, using premium natural materials to create sustainable footwear. After years of researching, testing, and chasing his vision, New Zealand's Tim Brown teamed up with Joey Zwillinger, a San Francisco based engineer and renewables expert to create an innovative fabric, and successfully designed the world's most comfortable shoe. Allbirds plans to continue pioneering the use of premium sustainable materials, all with the same focus on quality craftsmanship and simple, beautiful design.

Media Contact: Chandler Lennon, clennon@audubon.org, (804) 832-0832