Leonardo DiCaprio invests in Kiwi footwear company Allbirds. / Allbirds
Allbirds sustainable shoe company, has launched its own version of our nation's favourite casual footwear — but it comes at a price.
Co-founded by New Zealander Tim Brown, the San Francisco-based company's new Sugar Zeffers are made using sugar cane and recycled polyester.
They also feature straps filled with castorbean oil foam, but it remains to be seen whether these features will mean consumers are willing to stump up $60 for a pair of jandals.
The Sugar Zeffers feature Allbirds' SweetFoam soles, which are derived from renewable sugar cane. Photo / Allbirds
While they may be a bit more expensive than the beachy footwear Kiwis are accustomed to, the shoes have several environmental benefits which standard jandals don't.
In place of the EVA plastic foam usually used in the soles of shoes, the Sugar Zeffers feature Allbirds' SweetFoam soles, which are derived from renewable sugar cane.
Plus, the company says the "light as a feather" soles are the world's first carbon-negative green-EVA.
One person who obviously believes in Allbirds' business model is Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, whose investment in the company has just been announced.
Proud to be an investor in @Allbirds, a company dedicated to creating a more sustainable future by developing new materials and serving as a model for the footwear industry. Learn more: https://t.co/hmAn6cqdg5.
DiCaprio, who is known for his interest in environmental issues, said in a post on Twitter that he was "Proud to be an investor in @Allbirds, a company dedicated to creating a more sustainable future by developing new materials and serving as a model for the footwear industry."
Actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio has invested in Allbirds, which was co-founded by a New Zealander. Photo / Getty Images
