Allbirds, the New Zeland-born B-Corp, sustainable footwear brand, has secured Series C funding of $50 million from T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Fidelity Management and Research Company and Tiger Global.
This injection of money takes the total funding budget to more than $75 million, which will be used to support research and development of sustainable materials, as well as Allbirds' expansion.
This week, the brand will open its first store in the UK in London and will launch associated operations and shipping throughout the region, while in 2019 the business will expand into Asian markets via retail and e-commerce channels.
Co-founder and co-CEO of Allbirds, Joey Zwillinger, said that the funding will help bring the Allbirds product to more markets around the globe.
“Climate change is the problem of our generation and the private sector has a responsibility to combat it.
“We founded Allbirds as a Public Benefit Corporation, officially writing environmental protection into our charter.
“This injection of capital will help us bring our sustainable products to more people around the globe, demonstrating that comfort, design and sustainability don’t have to live exclusive of each other,” he said.
Currently, Allbirds operates in the US, New Zealand, Australia and Canada and co-founder and co-CEO, Tim Brown, said that the funding will help the business to continue to challenge footwear norms.
“There’s an opportunity for us to take a leadership role in an industry that has paid lip service to the
idea of sustainability.
“We are incredibly fortunate to be able to take advantage of this moment and challenge footwear norms, creating products that are not only better for our customers, but also better for the planet.”
The funding was announced on October 11.