sustainable-footwear
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Kelly Olmstead
Kelly Olmstead is the Chief Marketing Officer of Allbirds, the San Francisco sustainable footwear and apparel brand. She brings more than 25 years across sporting goods, footwear and apparel, including nearly two decades at Adidas leading brand, retail and digital marketing for North America, and a stint as CMO of children's clothing brand Hanna Andersson. Since taking the top marketing seat at Allbirds in December 2023, she has anchored the company's turnaround on brand building over pure performance marketing, launching the 'Allbirds by Nature' platform and betting that consistency, storytelling and a beloved product can lift the brand's awareness the way it lifts its Net Promoter Score.
Brooks Running
Brooks Running is a Seattle-based company that designs and sells performance running shoes, apparel, and accessories, and does nothing else. A subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, it narrowed its focus to running in 2001 and turned a near-bankrupt shoe maker into a category leader, closing 2025 with roughly $1.5 billion in revenue and its ninth straight year of growth. Its core franchises - the Ghost, Glycerin, and Adrenaline GTS - anchor the No. 1 position in U.S. specialty running retail, built on cushioning and support technologies like DNA LOFT, BioMoGo DNA, and GuideRails.
KEEN
KEEN is a privately held American outdoor footwear and accessories brand founded in 2003 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Best known for the toe-protecting Newport hybrid sandal, KEEN designs hiking boots, sandals, casual shoes and safety work footwear (KEEN Utility) that blend outdoor performance with a durability-first, low-impact ethos it calls 'Consciously Created.' The company has been PFAS-free since 2018, uses recycled and agricultural-waste materials, manufactures part of its line in the U.S., and channels giving through The KEEN Effect. It sells direct-to-consumer online and through retail partners worldwide.
OluKai
OluKai is a Hawaiian-inspired premium footwear brand that designs sandals, sneakers, slippers, boots and golf shoes for people who live an active, ocean-oriented lifestyle. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Irvine, California, the company blends the Hawaiian values of comfort ('olu') and ocean ('kai') with contoured, high-support footbeds and water-friendly, durable construction. A Certified B Corporation, OluKai channels a portion of every sale into its 'Ohana Giveback Program and the Ama OluKai Foundation to preserve Hawaiian culture and communities.
Twisted X Global Brands
Twisted X Global Brands is a Decatur, Texas-based footwear company that designs and manufactures comfortable, handcrafted western, work, casual and outdoor shoes and boots for men, women and children. Known for its patented CellStretch comfort technology and its ecoTWX fabric made from recycled plastic bottles, Twisted X pairs all-day comfort with a sustainability mission that made it one of the first carbon-neutral footwear companies. Under CEO Prasad Reddy, the company turned around from near-bankruptcy in 2009 into a fast-growing brand family that includes Twisted X, Twisted X Work, Black Star Boots, CellSole and licensed Wrangler Footwear.
Allbirds
Allbirds is a San Francisco footwear and apparel company that built a global brand on wool sneakers and a sustainability-first ethos. Co-founded in 2015 by former pro footballer Tim Brown and biotech engineer Joey Zwillinger, it turned superfine merino wool, eucalyptus tree fiber and sugarcane into low-carbon shoes, became the first fashion brand to print a carbon footprint on its products, and reached a $4 billion valuation at its 2021 IPO. After years of declining sales, store closures and a stock collapse, Allbirds agreed in March 2026 to sell its brand and assets to American Exchange Group for roughly $39 million.