With a market value of $1.7 billion, Allbirds is about to go public

Spurred by a recent wave of tech IPOs , consumer-facing brands are beginning to experiment with public offerings , with Jessica Alba's Honest Company, for example , preparing for its debut.

JAB Holdings , the parent company of eyewear retailers Warby Parker and Panera, is also reportedly looking to go public amid growing investor enthusiasm for retail and restaurant brands in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic .

Allbirds , an American company based in New Zealand, is also trying to go public. It is reported that Allbirds insists on environmental protection as its theme, mainly designs and sells shoes and clothing, and its business categories have also expanded from the original casual shoes to other shoes, such as running shoes and flip-flops.

Allbirds has seen growing momentum for its products — including its signature slip-on sneakers made with wool and other sustainable materials — during the health crisis . The brand initially attracted a fanatic following in Silicon Valley and quickly spread around the world.

Today the company has 23 stores, including in London, Berlin, Shanghai and Tokyo, according to its website .

Last year, Allbirds launched its first running shoes to compete with larger rivals like Nike and Adidas, and it also began selling a variety of apparel, including socks , sweaters and jackets.

In May, Allbirds announced a partnership with Adidas to innovate manufacturing and supply chain processes and jointly explore renewable material resources to create the lowest carbon footprint ever for a sports performance shoe, a rare and buzzy move from two brands that are seen as competitors in the sports space.

Relevant data shows that by 2021, more than 60% of Adidas products will be made with sustainable materials. Adidas is a partner of the environmental organization Parley for Oceans, and the company also said that this year it will use recycled plastic waste from beaches and coastal areas to produce 17 million pairs of shoes. By 2025, nine out of ten Adidas products must be sustainable.

Allbirds co-founder Tim Brown told CNBC in a recent interview that he wants to try to make better products with less impact on the environment.

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