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GA Review

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Nominator: Oganguly (talk · contribs) 21:34, 10 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Reviewer: Matthew Yeager (talk · contribs) 19:19, 10 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]


I'll be looking over this nomination and providing feedback over the next few hours. Matthew Yeager (talk) 19:19, 10 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Good Article review progress box
Criteria: 1a. prose () 1b. MoS () 2a. ref layout () 2b. cites WP:RS () 2c. no WP:OR () 2d. no WP:CV ()
3a. broadness () 3b. focus () 4. neutral () 5. stable () 6a. free or tagged images () 6b. pics relevant ()
Note: this represents where the article stands relative to the Good Article criteria. Criteria marked are unassessed

Overall

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Opportunities to copy edit good information into a better prose-flow. Questions about some of the reference quotes, contents, and quality. Some small, article-wide consistency issues in formatting. Certain areas tackle industry-wide sentiment or consumer confidence which could be improved with more reliable sources showcasing a well rounded voice.

Feedback covered section by section below.

Let me know once you read through the feedback if this is something you would have the time to address over the next week. Otherwise, I can close this nomination as failed, and once you work through the issues you can nominate again. Matthew Yeager (talk) 01:35, 11 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]


Lead

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Great content and well linked to relevant topics and main ideas. Some feedback on the flow and phrasing.

  • Promote "company ... known for" to first paragraph to help establish notability sooner.
Allbirds is a New Zealand and American public benefit company that sells footwear and apparel, co-founded in 2014 by Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger. Headquartered in San Francisco, Allbirds is known for their minimalist designs, association with environmental, social, and governance principles, and Silicon Valley culture.
  • as part of a suite of corporations funded via Kickstarter there seems to imply the collection of companies are connected. You could mention the kickstarter-wave and expand on that in the article, or just state the facts about Allbirds -- e.g. "founded through an initial fundraising of $119k on kickstarter".
  • It appears the lead matches the article flow: Founding, IPO, Legal Issues, Reception. It could also aid in understanding the rise and ensuing developments by keeping the lead in chronological order. Right now it is Founded (2014), issues in 2020s, Fad during 2014-2020. This would amount to moving the fad commentary to be after mentioning the company's founding.
  • Semicolons join two independent, but related sentences. Allbirds went public on November 3, 2021, but experienced poor sales soon afterwards; leading to a reworking of the company's C-suite from 2022 to 2024. The second half is only a fragment. If you wish Allbirds went public on November 3, 2021, but experienced poor sales soon afterwards; executive turnover followed the company through the end of 2024. Here each segment could stand as its own sentence, but is joined with the semicolon. The same thing could be accomplished with a conjunction After goin public on November 3, 2021, Allbirds experienced poor sales soon afterwards, with executive turnover following the company through the end of 2024. These examples are illustrative, as I'm not asking for these exact phrase changes to take place.
  • Was the offering of Merino wool distinctive and worth mentioning in the lead?

Infobox

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  • Please provide some indication of page number from the 100+ pg SEC filing. You can give sections or ranges, but for instance, I couldn't find "Olmstead" in the document, so perhaps more references are required.

History

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General copy-editing requests on phrasing and structure.

  • What was the idea? Tim Brown, co-founder of Allbirds, developed the idea as vice captain
  • Please look into the use of content within this section directly from the source without attribution or paraphrasing.
Article: In 2014, he received a research grant from the New Zealand wool industry to engineer a sneaker.
Source: receiving a research grant from the New Zealand wool industry to engineer something that would be fit for a sneaker
Article: teamed up with Joey Zwillinger, a biotech engineer and renewable-materials expert
Source: I teamed up with Joey Zwillinger, a biotech engineer and renewable materials expert
  • Surprised to see US$ linked and what significance does the 2023 give? raising US$119,000 (equivalent to $200,000 in 2023) in five days
  • Provide the information in prose, instead of establishing a list of one item The company began with one product: Wool Runners casual sneakers.
  • Quantify what kind of impact was made -- they were unknown before and this was great coverage that led to expansion or demand? Some[clarification needed] of the company's early publicity is credited to articles
  • Take a review of wiki linked concepts to provide consistency. Why would South Korea be linked but not Australia (not linked in the article anywhere). By the end of 2017, Allbirds expanded across the United States and into South Korea and Australia.
  • Determine if the information in the parenthesis is required to understand the sentence. If so, integrate it into the paragraph naturally, otherwise remove it. I suggest removing it, as the link to series-c is provided.In October 2018, after previous fundraisers, the company raised US$50 million in Series C funding (investment that startup companies typically receive to grow after proven success); bringing the company's total valuation to US$1.4 billion.
Additionally, same issue with use of semicolon. Example copy editing: In October 2018 Allbirds raised US$50 million in Series C funding, bringing their total valuation to US$1.4 billion.
  • Provide consistency in currency use. The funding round was $100 million, not $1 million, per the referenced source company had raised US$1,000,000 in Series E funding -> company had raised an addition $100 million.
  • The company lost US$25,900,000 against US$2,190,000 of revenue -> $25.9 million against $2.19 million
  • Provide temporal context to remove the ambiguity in total fundraising verse additional. Before its initial public offering in 2021, Allbirds raised over $200 million., following the sentence about Series-E, this could read as between Series-E and IPO they raised an additional $200m. What may clarity is establishing this is total raised funds.
  • Is this a significant opinion at the time? Were others expressing concern about overvaluation before IPO? Please expand the section with those opinions if so, or otherwise consider if this is undo weight. Forbes contributor David Trainer believed that the company was overvalued
  • Perhaps the exact value (suggesting $119 million) is less important than expanding on the factors, like adding declining new customers, investment in real estate, and ESG contradictions.
  • I think the article is written in a way which allows the reader to understand what the latest coverage is On April 8, 2024. I'd remove "as of 2024" from the section header 2021–present (as of 2024): Public offering
  • Industry and customer-base sentiment may best be portrayed by quoting reliable sources. The 2022 release of the Tree Flyer ended a period of experimentation with the company's offerings, including leggings, jackets, and dresses, which were unpopular with its customer base[who?]. Does not offer any citation, but the paragraph does reference some articles which may provide more impact by using the author's quoted words (if they are significant in the industry/coverage).
  • It sounds like the board was involved? as a result, Zwillinger was named chief executive officer and Brown was demoted. This section could be copy edited as the differences can be understood by the following sentences The company then returned to.
  • This decrease is not compared against the previous quarter, but against the previous year's 4th quarter (2022). I believe the current phrasing is ambiguous of this fact By the fourth quarter of 2023, Allbirds had a quarterly net-revenue decrease of 14.5 percent.
  • It would be great to more clearly establish the market mood of the time. It seems to imply that recent IPOs yielded large valuations which encouraged more and more financial expansion, ahead of financials. It is mentioned briefly in two places, 1. kickstarters co-hort, 2. post-IPO disappointing financials. It could be worth pulling out this directly if you can find sources.
  • Copy editing seems to cover all the information, not requiring the extended quote Rockeman placed Allbirds among other companies using online commerce who were shifting from independent sales platforms to aggregate retail platforms such as Amazon for increased visibility: "Others remain private, but face slowing growth and few potential buyers. Firms are also abandoning the go-it-alone approach and selling through retailers, including Allbirds getting into REI and Nordstrom."
  • Other C-Suite members[who?] were promoted internally or replaced by external hires, marking a change in the company's corporate structure[clarification needed].
  • What value does linking promoted internally provide beyond the plain understanding of the words?
  • Currently produces a tautology by providing all ways someone could be hired. Basically says "employees hired either internally or externally." Yes, of course that statement is always true.
  • Recommend removing the sentence, as the following sentences give concrete examples.

Corporate affairs

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Organization feedback and reference questions.

  • I read reference [49] and [50] and couldn't find mentioned that the Steve Madden case was settle. Do you see any reference covering those statements or the characterization of "quickly settled"?
  • In November 2019, Zwillinger accused Amazon's 206 Collective of producing a look-alike of the Wool Runner design for nearly half the price.
  • Please copy edit to provide context to the amazon brand, like accused Amazon's shoe line, 206 Collective, of
  • Article says nearly half the price while the reference says almost identical ... for a third of the price. Which is it?
  • Was there a case filed or not? If not, might want to avoid using the word "case" as it has legal implications in this section. The company did not bring Amazon to court..., The case with Amazon was cited
  • The Higg Material Sustainability Index that Allbirds used to measure
  • Is this the same as Higg Index? If so please link.
  • Overly wordy sentence is difficult to follow, consider Allbirds used the Higg Index to measure ...
  • Complicates the paragraph flow with legalese phrasing that could be simplified with the subjects already introduced The plaintiff accused Allbirds. Could be resolved by Allbirds was accused of....
  • Consider clarifying Corporate affairs under section titles Brand impersonation and Sustainability and manufacturing. With this you can move the second paragraph on Dwyer v. Allbirds, Inc down to be with the other sustainable concerns.
  • What is the significance of this regulator (ZQ Merino) and are there any non-primary sources? Since 2018, the company has used merino wool verified by ZQ Merino for animal-welfare purposes.[63]

Reception

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  • Article mentions SweetFoam as if its a known commodity. Instead provide context to show that Allbirds developed it themselves (if thats true). Allbirds uses SweetFoam, an IP it developed with the grant. Another Primary source which should instead be fortified with reliable sources. The example copy editing is illustrative only and is not referenced.
  • SweetFoam sugarcane is sourced to instead be "Sugarcane sourced for SweetFoam production is acquired from ..."
  • SweetFoam reception offers a single point of view which may be too limited in establishing the market and consumer reception.

Silicon Valley and fashion

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  • checkY Great section, well written with proper citation coverage and meaningful quotations.

Greenwashing

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  • Factor out the usage of the colon here Legal analysts have criticized Allbirds in light of Dwyer v. Allbirds, Inc. for alleged greenwashing: appearing environmentally friendly for promotional purposes while failing to deliver on sustainable promises.
  • Is the University of Kentucky's Journal of ... Law blog under an editorial processes to verify publications before release? I'm questioning the reliability of the source, as opposed to being included in a law review publication.
  • Would you point me towards the section in the source where the author alleged Allbirds ... used [ESG] in marketing an IPO ...?
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  • Was this meant to be "likened" instead of and linked him and his cabinet to Silicon Valley. ?
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  • These images do not seem objective and focused on the topic. Instead, they appear stylized as if they were personal social media posts. I see there are not currently many images to choose from in Commons, but I would remove these images without losing any context to the article. Definitely can explore adding additional gallery images in the future.

Other Points

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  • If the entire article consistently remains in USD, then you can first introduce US$50,000 and then in the rest of the article us just $1.5 million. WP:CURRENCY
  • Is this a New Zealand company? The lead mentions it, but it is never discussed as a significant aspect of the article.
  • Wasn't the price point ($95?) significant in establishing the image of the consumer and Silicon Valley culture?

References

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  • Duplicate References: 4 & 9
Bowles, Nellie (August 11, 2017). "To Fit Into Silicon Valley, Wear These Wool Shoes". The New York Times.
Bowles, Nellie (August 12, 2017). "Silicon Valley's Fuzzy Fad". The New York Times:
  • Reference 34 - "How Allbirds Lost Its Footing". The Wall Street Journal.
Would the cite podcast template make more sense here?
Would you provide a timestamp to the relevant section of the podcast?
  • Reference 48 is written in German. Please provide the |language= parameter. "Zu hoch gehängt: Die Allbirds-Gründer glaubten, eine globale D2C-Marke mit breitem Sortiment und extrem loyaler Kundschaft aufbauen zu können. Jetzt müssen sie deutlich tiefer stapeln"
  • Reference 86 "PM Ardern gifts Turnbull family 'All Birds'". NZ Herald (video). Please update to use cite video as |type=video is not the intended use.
  • Reference 87 - Do you have access to this source? No url is given.
Abel, Katie (April 30, 2018). "Taking Flight: Sometimes it takes a team of outsiders to breakin [sic]. How Allbirds is defying tradition and writing a powerful new brand story". Footwear News. 74 (14).


The New York Times

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Please update the {{cite web templates in these references to reflect the limited access, by adding |url-access=limited.

  • Ref 4 - "To Fit Into Silicon Valley, Wear These Wool Shoes"
  • Ref 5 - "Allbirds's I.P.O. filing shows losses but grand ambitions for its sustainable shoes"
  • Ref 6 - "Declining Wool Demand Forces Scramble to Adapt at New Zealand Farms"
  • Ref 9 - "Silicon Valley's Fuzzy Fad"
  • Ref 73 - "How to Think About Curiously Fashionable Footwear".

URL Access

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  • "Can Allbirds Live Up to Its $1 Billion Valuation?". Bloomberg.com - |url-access=registration
  • "Allbirds Stock Plummets After Shoe Brand 'Deteriorated Quickly'". Bloomberg.com - |url-access=registration
  • "Trendy Sneaker Startup Allbirds Laces Up $1.4 Billion Valuation". Wall Street Journal. - |url-access=subscription
  • "Allbirds Were the Tech Bro 'It' Shoe. Then the Tech Bros Moved On". The Wall Street Journal. - |url-access=subscription
  • "How Allbirds Became Silicon Valley's Favorite Sneaker". The Wall Street Journal. - |url-access=subscription
  • "How Allbirds Lost Its Way". WSJ. The Wall Street Journal. - |url-access=subscription
  • "Allbirds dropped 'sustainable' claim from IPO after SEC objection" Financial Times. - |url-access=subscription
  • "Allbirds walks back 'sustainable IPO' claims ahead of market debut". Financial Times. - |url-access=subscription
  • "Allbirds spreads its wings; Report / The people behind Silicon Valley's favourite wool trainers are now making clothing using tree fibre and crab shells". The Financial Times - |url-access=subscription
  • "Allbirds Is Already Overvalued At Expected IPO Valuation". Forbes. - |url-access=limited
  • "Allbirds Valued At Over $4 Billion After Stock Surges In IPO". Forbes. - |url-access=limited
  • "Goodbye to Greenwashing in the Fashion Industry: Greater Enforcement and Guidelines". North Carolina Law Review. - |url-access=subscription
  • "Allbirds Lands on Receiving End of Securities Lawsuit as Stock Drops". The Fashion Law. - |url-access=limited
  • "Allbirds Seeks Dismissal of Securities Fraud Case". The Fashion Law. - |url-access=limited
  • "ALLBIRDS TREE DASHER 2". via EBSCO Information Services. - |url-access=subscription
  • "ALLBIRDS TREE FLYER". via EBSCO Information Services. - |url-access=subscription
  • "Anti-Fashion Branding: Framing Technology in Uniqlo and Allbirds". Fashion Theory. - |url-access=subscription
  • "The Future or Fancy? An Empirical Study of Public Benefit Corporations". via HEINOnline. - |url-access=subscription
  • "Misleading Markets: Consumer Protection in the Age of Climate Washing". via HEINOnline. - |url-access=subscription
  • "Gray Areas in Green Claims: Why Greenwashing Regulation Needs an Overhaul". via HEINOnline. - |url-access=subscription
  • "ESG Ratings: A Blind Spot for U.S. Securities Regulation". via HEINOnline. - |url-access=subscription
  • "Doing Good or Just Looking Good? An Analysis of Delaware's Public Benefit corporation a Decade after its Creation". via HEINOnline. - |url-access=subscription
  • "Remaking Capitalism: The Strength of Weak Legislation in Mobilizing B Corporation Certification". via ResearchGate - |url-access=subscription
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