The trending sneaker, Allbirds, makes you "conscious"

If you continue doing one thing, you will start to hear more and more people say, "This is what comes to mind when I think of you."

For the past few years, I have been saying "New Zealand wine" in my shop, on social media, on this blog, etc. Thankfully, the number of people who see this and say "I came to drink New Zealand wine" or "I came to eat New Zealand lamb chops" has gradually increased (until COVID-19).

Also, I've been getting a lot of presentations from vendors dealing in New Zealand wines, asking, "What do you think of our wine?" I'm grateful for this too. The more good wines we have, the more customers can enjoy themselves, and the more the store becomes richer. There are so many good things about it. If you're a vendor reading this, please make a presentation if you have any good wines.

Then, an acquaintance of mine who works as a radio director in Tokyo introduced me to these sneakers with a smug look on his face, saying, "Do you know? These are the ones that are popular in New Zealand these days."

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Their name is "ALLBIRDS."

▶Allbirds Official Online Store

"I interviewed you for a TV program the other day, and I thought, ``Oh, this is a project for you, Mr. Iwasu,'' he said, as he came to the store wearing the shoes.

Ugh, I had no idea. I guess I'm not very knowledgeable about anything about New Zealand other than wine...

But I'm happy. I was honestly happy that they recognized me as someone who wanted something new from New Zealand. I guess sometimes a fool's only knowledge of one thing can help reinforce the second thing.

After asking him and doing some research myself, I found out that the features of the shoes, Allbirds, are as follows:

I see, that's why radio directors want to go and check it out. If I were a director, I'm sure there are plenty of elements that I would want to cover.

Of the features, the one that caught my attention the most was

These sneakers are made from the finest merino wool.

That is the point.

I couldn't really imagine sneakers made of wool.

When we researched the raw material "merino wool"...

Merino wool is a high-quality product that tends to shrink more than other wools. The wool tends to tangle easily, so it has good heat retention and good breathability. It is also comfortable to the touch and has odor resistance, making it a material with excellent characteristics.

The merino wool used by Allbirds is very fine, 1/5 the thickness of a human hair, so it's light, soft, and not at all itchy.

Oh, it looks good. I'm not very sensitive to the trends of the world, but unfortunately I have sensitive skin, so I'm very concerned about the stress that wearing things can cause to my skin. So, the fact that it's "light, soft, and non-irritating" is a big plus for me.

Okay, let's give it a try.

So the day after I saw the introduction, I ordered it online. This is what arrived.

Allbirds Wool Runner-up Mizzles

Since I bought it in November, I chose items that would be useful in the winter.

It's a very simple design.

The logo is discreetly placed on the back of the sole.

The upper material is merino wool. It certainly feels nice against the skin. I feel like I could wear it barefoot. It has a fluorine-free water-repellent coating that is Eco Passport certified (OEKO-TEX®) . There are efforts to reduce the burden on the environment.

The soles are made from a combination of SweetFoam™, a carbon negative green EVA material, and FSC® certified natural rubber .

The insoles are made from castor oil and merino wool , which apparently produces less CO2 than those made from petroleum.

The shoelaces are made from 100% recycled polyester. Two shoelaces can be made from one plastic bottle.

The fact that you can return the product within 30 days if you're not satisfied also shows their confidence.

I usually wear size 25.5cm, but the size was only available in 1cm increments, so I ordered size 26cm. It fit perfectly.

I tried wearing them for two full weeks.

I am very satisfied with the results.

When Time magazine described them as "the most comfortable shoes in the world," I was tempted to ask them if they had tried every shoe in the world, but when you actually try them on, they are actually quite comfortable.

As expected, it is light, soft, and does not cause any skin stress. It also has good cushioning. And it feels quite warm. There were several days when the temperature was high, but the insulation was too high and my feet did not feel hot. I'm sure it is also breathable.

However, the water repellency may not be as good as advertised. As you would expect, it is wool, so if it gets wet, water will soak in. But strangely, I didn't feel like my feet were steaming, and there was more air passing through them than in regular sneakers, so it didn't feel too uncomfortable.

Well, I think this is fine for a little rain. When it rains heavily, I'll just wear rain shoes.

Besides the functionality, I also discovered something else.

It 's the "change in mood" I get when I wear them.

As mentioned above, Allbirds boasts that each and every material they use is environmentally friendly.

To be honest, until now I have never been particularly enthusiastic about ecological activities or the SDGs that we hear about so often these days.

Although I am aware that "I am also a human being who is a part of the Earth, so I have to do something," I can't help but feel a little uneasy about going in that direction like highly conscious people. To be honest, there were some parts that put me off.

But when I wear these every day, I unexpectedly start to feel a little more conscious, like, "Oh, from now on, I'm going to wear more conscious shoes." When the things I touch every day are environmentally friendly goods, I can't help but feel a little more conscious. This is refreshing.

Well, it's not like I can suddenly become an environmentally conscious person in real life, but somehow I feel like these shoes are like a switch that reminds me to be environmentally conscious once a day.

For example, I'll carry two eco-bags in case I need to do a lot of shopping, or when I go shopping, if there's a fair trade mark among the options, I'll choose that one. I've started to have very small awareness.

However, I still drive a gasoline-powered car and use the air conditioner a lot. If I just look at my choice of a pair of shoes, it probably means almost nothing on a global scale, and I understand that it's a matter of "pretty words." But, it's not bad that I've had my consciousness raised a little from the bottom up. I think going from almost zero to one is a decent progress for me.

Finally, let's go back to wine for a moment.

In fact, many New Zealand wines have this mark.

This is proof that the winery is committed to sustainable (environmentally conscious) practices. It is a certification system created by a New Zealand winery association in 1997, and there is a high probability that New Zealand wines imported into Japan will have this mark printed on them.

I think it's pretty amazing that it's been more than 20 years since wineries started saying, "We need to be environmentally conscious companies." Making wine in harmony with nature has become the mood of the whole country. I think they're really progressing.

By the way, 96% of the vineyards in the country are certified sustainable. I don't think there is another country like that.

In the future, I'd like to promote this aspect of New Zealand wine a little more in my store.

Wearing Allbirds has made me, someone who wasn't very conscious about my lifestyle, more conscious about being a little more conscious.

In the same way, I think that by drinking New Zealand wine, you are taking part in an effort to protect the environment, and it will serve as an opportunity to become more conscious of it.

If more people think that if they're going to drink wine, it should be made with environmental considerations in mind, it will be an opportunity for companies that do things that are bad for the environment to clean up their act...Well, it will probably take a considerable amount of time, but I think it's better to do it than not at all.

(For more information, please see this explanatory page. ▶Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand )

However, I did run into a problem after buying these Allbirds sneakers.

I did quite a bit of research online before buying them, so recently, whenever I look online I see nothing but Allbirds ads.

Leonardo DiCaprio, who is both an investor and a poster boy, appears in the film a lot. Even if you like the product, it's annoying to see him appear every time.

Even though I've already bought it, I feel like I'm being targeted too much.

But what if you continued to wear them during the winter and realized how good they are?

Maybe in the spring I'll buy a lighter colored low cut pair. I guess I've fallen for the targeted advertising.