Children in Africa and Asia are set to become the beneficiaries of upcycled bags produced from recycled Emirates Airlines aircraft interiors.
Emirates is repurposing more than 50 000 kilograms of materials from 191 aircraft undergoing a cabin interior refurb.
Thus, Emirates Airlines will create useful bags and daypacks for underprivileged children from these upcycled materials.
BAGS AND BACKPACKS
Emirates will give new life to the materials and is producing thousands of handmade children’s backpacks and schoolbags.
These will then be donated to schools and organisations supporting early education across Africa and Asia this year.
A dedicated team of tailors creatively designed a range of backpacks, for children of different ages.
The team worked with Emirates’ Corporate Communications, Marketing & Brand team to identify charitable entities, schools, orphanages, and foundations, where the bags are set to be distributed in the coming months.
“We are so proud of our people at Emirates and their commitment to this initiative. Countless hours have been invested into making these bags for children; it’s a true passion project for our diligent team. We’ve even had volunteers within the larger company come forward and offer to help with the project, there is a huge appetite to contribute and support entities in need. It’s also a testament to Emirates’ commitment to constantly evolve our environmental efforts and examine all aspects of our products and supply chains. For this project, our aim is to turn what would have been waste, into prized possessions.” Ahmed Safa, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President for Engineering said.
AIRBUS A380 AIRCRAFT SEATING
To minimise waste, Emirates’ Engineering team tasked themselves to find a way to repurpose the fabrics from the Economy Class seats of 22 Airbus A380 aircraft that have completed the retrofit process.
From these aircraft, 5 205 kilograms of scrap materials were recovered, including seat fabric of 95% wool and 5% nylon composition with a flat weave structure, sourced from Germany and Ireland.
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EMIRATES AIRLINES RECYCLES AIRCRAFT MATERIALS
In a media release, Emirates says the initiative will create something useful and valuable for the less fortunate.
The materials were identified as ideal for upcycling due to their durability and non-flammable nature. The decision was made to produce high-quality backpacks for children in need.
Furthermore, Emirates’ teams spent weeks researching bag styles, ensuring the bags are safe and comfortable for children to use.
EMIRATES AIRLINES UPCYCLED BAGS
All the fabrics are freshly laundered and then deep cleaned by hand.
They are then leather-conditioned for the leather accents featured on some bags, and thoroughly disinfected before being sewn into unique pieces.
Then, brand-new lining is added to the upcycled bags, along with functional zippers and adjustable straps.
The result is a range of sturdy, quality bags that Emirates will make-to-order for worthy causes across Africa and Asia.
