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Looking for your next pair of merino wool shoes but can’t decide between Baabuk vs Allbirds? With both brands creating sustainable wool shoes, knowing which shoe brand is best for you can be tricky.
So, to make it easier for you to decide, we’ve compared Baabuk vs Allbirds in the following article. We cover brand sustainability, how their shoes fit, what materials the brand use, price difference, and the styles they create.
- Baabuk Urban Wooler vs Allbirds Wool Runner
- About Baabuk
- About Allbirds
- Is Baabuk Sustainable?
- Where are Baabuk Shoes made?
- Are Allbirds Sustainable?
- Where are Allbirds Shoes made?
- Are Baabuk Sneakers good quality?
- Are Allbirds Sneakers good quality?
- Drawbacks of Baabuk
- Drawbacks of Allbirds sneakers
- How does Baabuk fit?
- How do Allbirds fit?
- Is Baabuk Vegan?
- Is Allbirds Vegan?
- Baabuk Style Comparison
- Allbirds Style Comparison
- Wrapping Up: Baabuk vs Allbirds
So, without further a due, let’s look into Baabuk Urban Wooler vs. Allbirds Wool runner.
Baabuk Urban Wooler vs Allbirds Wool Runner
| Baabuk Urban Wooler | Allbirds Wool Runner | |
|---|---|---|
Brand |  |  |
| Style |  |  |
| Materials | •Muesling-free Wool felt uppers •Durable Rubber Soles •Elastic Laces | •ZQ Muesling-free Merino wool uppers • Carbon negative Green EVA Foam sole • Recycled plastic laces |
| Machine Washable? | ✔ | ✔ |
| Waterproof? | ❌ | ❌ |
| Certified B Corp? | ✔ | ✔ |
| Price | $125 | $110 |
About Baabuk
Baabuk is an ethical and sustainable shoe company based in Switzerland crafting slippers and shoes from responsibly sourced wool.
Founded in 2013, founders Galina and Dan, inspired by how warm and durable wool slippers can be, experimented with the versatile properties of wool and created eight pairs of slippers that set the ball rolling for Baabuk. In 2014 the founders opened a factory in Nepal have grown their business ever since.
Today, based in Switzerland with their slipper factory in Nepal, Baabuk creates five core wool shoe styles and three core slipper styles, offering the customer the opportunity to customize their unique wool shoes.
About Allbirds
San Fransisco-based sustainable shoe brand Allbirds is a household name for sustainable shoes. Founded by New-Zealander Tim Brown, and San Franciscan Joey Zwillinger, the company launched in 2014 with its signature shoe, the Wool Runner, made from New Zealand Merino Wool.
Eight years later, the brand has expanded its wool shoe collection to feature wool sneakers, wool running shoes, and more.
Allbirds focuses on creating its shoes as eco-friendly as possible and uses responsibly sourced wool to produce its shoes.
Is Baabuk Sustainable?
Although Baabuk is still a relatively small company, the brand has prioritized sustainability since day one.
For Baabuk’s wool shoes, the brand uses responsibly sourced wool from muesling-free sheep to create a durable, recyclable, and renewable fabric.
The brand achieved B Corporation status in 2017; this status signifies that a business meets and exceeds high standards of performance, accountability, and business transparency on ethical production, employee treatment, supply chain practices, and materials. You can see Baabuks B Corp’s score here and explore more about certified B corporations.
Where are Baabuk Shoes made?
Baabuks wool sneakers are ethically made in Portugal. The wool is locally sourced in the Portuguese region of Serra da Estrela, where the wool is felted in the local Burel factory. The felted wool then goes on to be assembled into Baabuks comfortable sneakers in a factory outside of Porto.
For Baabuks wool slippers, wool is sourced from New Zealand, and the slippers are assembled ethically in the Baabuks Nepal factory.
Are Allbirds Sustainable?
Allbirds are focused on creating sustainable sneakers and eco-friendly running shoes as sustainably as possible.
The brand uses sustainable, natural, and recycled materials, including muesling-free ZQ merino wool, natural Eucalyptus tree fibers, and recycled plastic bottles to create its popular sneakers.
Like Baabuk, Allbirds also have the B corp certification, which they have held since 2016. This certification ensures Allbirds meet high standards of ethical and sustainable production.
Where are Allbirds Shoes made?
Allbirds Shoes are made in audited factories in China, South Korea, and Vietnam.
Allbirds South Korean factory creates Allbirds Wool Runners.
Are Baabuk Sneakers good quality?
Baabuk sneakers are made from high-quality wool, a natural water repellant, moisture-wicking, and breathable material, to keep feet at the perfect temperature.
Baabuks soles are durable rubber that offers resistance to water, grease, and extreme temperatures.
Overall, Baabuk receives good reviews of their shoes, with an average rating of 4.5/5. Note this does include some reviews of Baabuk wool slippers combined in this rating.
Are Allbirds Sneakers good quality?
We can speak from personal experience that Allbirds shoes are of good quality. Having worn the AllbirdsTree Dashers almost every day for a year, they still look brand new with little wearing on the soles.
While we have not personally tried the Wool Runners, the Allbirds signature shoe gets great reviews on the Allbirds website, averaging a 4.6/5 with over two thousand reviews.
Drawbacks of Baabuk
One of the main negatives about Baabuk is the company’s returns policy, as the brand will charge you to return shoes to them. In addition, Baabuk states that customized products & clearance items are not eligible for refunds or exchanges.
Another drawback is that while Baabuk shoes are coated in water-repellant wax and wool in natural water repellant, Baabuk shoes aren’t entirely waterproof and currently don’t have any completely waterproof styles on offer.
Drawbacks of Allbirds sneakers
One drawback of the Wool Runners is that the shoe isn’t waterproof. However, allbirds have released a waterproof wool sneaker called the Wool Mizzle, so if you’re looking for a water-resistant wool shoe, we recommend looking at the Wool Mizzle instead.
Another drawback of the Wool Runner is that the shoe runs slightly small, as indicated on the Allbirds website, so definitely size up if you are between sizes.
How does Baabuk fit?
Baabuk doesn’t specify whether their sizes are true to size or not. Some reviews say that Baabuk shoes can run slightly narrow; however, this may vary depending on your size.
Baabuk does offer a great size finding tool, which tells you which size it recommends; you can discover the size chart here.
Baabuk Urban Wooler comes with an elastic lace feature, allowing you to slip their shoes on and off easily.
The only slight drawback is that the elastic laces can’t be tied as tightly as you would with normal laces, but there is some adjustment available.
How do Allbirds fit?
While we haven’t tried the Allbirds Wool Runners, our Ecothes editors have personally tested the Allbirds Tree Dasher and Tree Piper styles and found the shoes to be well made and comfortable for wearing all day long.
According to reviews on the website, the sizing for the Wool Runners says that the shoes tend to run slightly on the smaller side. So if you’re a half size, it’s best to size up.
Is Baabuk Vegan?
No, Baabuk sneakers aren’t vegan as they are made with wool.
Is Allbirds Vegan?
No, currently, Allbirds doesn’t offer any vegan shoe styles.
Baabuk Style Comparison
Baabuk creates four core wool shoe styles. Below we’ve compared each of these in a handy table.
| Urban Woolers | Sky Woolers | Wool Slip Ons | Wool Ballerina Flats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Style |  |  |  |  |
| Key Features | •Good color choices •Slip on •Durable sole •Moisture wicking and breathable | •High top style •Durable sole •Nubuck trim | •Lightweight •Slip on style | •Comfortable wool flat |
| Materials | •Responsibly sourced wool uppers •Elastic laces •Rubber Sole | •Responsibly sourced wool uppers •Elastic laces •Lightweight rubber Sole | •Responsibly sourced wool uppers •Elastic laces •Natural Latex Sole | •Mulesing-free sheep wool uppers •Nubuck •Natural latex sole |
| Machine Washable? | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Water resistant? | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Where to buy? | Shop Urban Wooler | Shop Sky Wooler | Shop Wool Slip On | Shop Wool Ballerina |
Allbirds Style Comparison
In the table below we compare four of Allbirds wool shoes. If you’re looking for specifically running shoes, Allbirds create a specialized running shoe range, including wool running shoes, the Wool Dasher, that we have’nt covered here.
| Wool Runners | Wool Runner Mizzles | Wool Pipers | Wool Lounger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Style |  |  |  |  |
| Key Features | •Cushioned midsole gives wear-all-day support •Good color choices | •Cushioned midsole gives wear-all-day support •Water resistant coating | •Lightweight, temperature regulating •Slip on style | •Lightweight, temperature regulating •Slip on style |
| Materials | •ZQ certified Merino wool upper •Recycled plastic bottle laces •Carbon negative EVA sole | •ZQ certified Merino wool upper •Recycled plastic bottle laces •Carbon negative EVA sole | •ZQ Merino wool •Recycled platic laces •Carbon negative EVA sole | •ZQ Merino wool •Carbon negative EVA sole |
| Machine Washable? | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Water resistant? | ❌ | ✔ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Where to buy? | Shop Wool Runner | Shop Wool Runner Mizzles | Shop Wool Pipers | Shop Wool Lounger |
Wrapping Up: Baabuk vs Allbirds
Both shoe brands create wool sneakers from sustainable and natural materials.
Both brands have the B Corp certification, showing that they are committed to sustainable and ethical production.
If you’re looking for a water-resistant wool sneaker, we would go with the Allbirds Wool Mizzles over the Wool Runner and Urban Wooler, as it has added water-repellant technology.
If you’re looking for an Allbirds alternative, Baabuk is a great choice, with a range of styles and colors available.
Overall, Allbirds is a cheaper price point, and their shoes are well made and good quality.
If you still haven’t made up your mind and are looking for other sustainable sneakers and wool shoes, or want to compare other shoe brands to allbirds, check out our articles on Vessi, Atoms, Tropicfeel, and Cariuma. you’re looking to compare
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