Emirates is getting ready to introduce a limited-edition collection of purses and accessories constructed from recycled Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 parts.
The line will comprise belts, shoes, backpacks, handbags, cardholders, toiletry bags, and suitcases; it will be on sale in 2024.
Made by a team of talented seamstresses at an Emirates Engineering facility in Dubai, this project is part of a major overhaul that will see 120 aircraft receive brand-new interiors.
Customizable, the collection will benefit charitable organizations with all proceeds.
Customers can order items with personalized specifications or initial engravings from this fully customizable recycled collection.
According to sources, the Emirates Airline Foundation would use the sales revenue to provide grants to underprivileged youngsters.
The collection’s materials originate from aircraft that are now being redesigned inside and out. There are 53 Boeing 777s and 67 Airbus A380s involved in the two-year upgrade procedure, which started in 2022.
Recovered material for upcycling totals more than 30,000 pounds.
After salvaging almost 30,000 pounds of material from 16 aircraft, Emirates Airlines intends to retrieve up to 595 pounds of leather and 1,382 pounds of seat fabric from each aircraft that is renovated.
Fur from pilot seat linings, headrests, leather from A380 lounges, and seatbelts are among the items gathered.
Emirates’ divisional senior vice president for engineering, Ahmed Safa, described this as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a slice of aviation history.”
An in-house team designs fashionable and high-quality repurposed items.
Emirates’ in-house staff of 14 tailors, known as engineering repair assistants, creates the upcycled products. Typically, these individuals work on cabin fitting repair.
Four of them are allegedly devoted to the upcycling project at the moment.
Before the leather is used to make the products, Safa clarified, it is hand-washed, deep-cleaned, conditioned, and fully sanitized.
Nina Gbor, a sustainable fashion specialist and educator, commended Emirates for proving that upcycling can be fashionable and high-quality.
Emirates is not the first airline to implement this approach.
A340-600 components were used to create a series of home furnishings and accessories that Lufthansa Airlines previously released.
In order to support the much-needed circular economy in the world, Gbor hopes that Emirates expands this line beyond only a limited edition and that other product makers are motivated to commit to using existing materials for revamping and recycling their products.
In a prior charity event, Emirates put several hundred artifacts from a scrapped A380 up for auction.
