Summary
- Finnair has launched a brand new recycling campaign involving old uniforms, turning them into outdoor furniture through sustainable manufacturing practices.
- The method involves mixing shredded textiles from the uniforms with recycled plastic particles to create latest composite materials, making the uniforms a part of hard-wearing products with a protracted lifespan.
- The advantages of composite materials include durability, the flexibility to be recycled again at the tip of their lifecycle, and the prevention of worn-out clothes from becoming waste.
Reducing the environmental footprint of an airline isn’t any cakewalk. Nonetheless, some airlines are developing unordinary strategies to further their efforts to turn into progressively more sustainable. Finnair, for example, has gone the additional mile to spice up its commitment to a greener aviation industry by finding a really original way of recycling worn-out uniforms.
From the cabin to the park: Finnair’s latest recycling strategy
One of the vital urgent points on any airline’s agenda is to seek out strategies to cut back their negative impact on the environment.
Besides investing in modern, fuel-efficient aircraft and resorting to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), some carriers are pondering outside the box to seek out other ways of achieving their sustainability goals. As an illustration, Finnair, Finland’s flag carrier, has launched a brand new recycling campaign involving crew uniforms.
Photo: Finnair
By cooperating with the Finnish work-clothing manufacturer Image Wear, Finnair will turn old uniforms previously utilized by ground and cabin crew into outdoor items. Merja Lindberg, Finnair Uniform Manager, explained how Image Wear leverages its expertise to show worn-out uniforms into raw materials that may be later utilized in composite materials. These then turn into part of latest, hard-wearing products, including tables and benches.
Photo: Image Wear
The means of recycling old uniforms
It is difficult to imagine that the trendy uniforms worn by Finnair ground and cabin crew will sooner or later turn into a part of an outside piece of furniture. At this point, you is likely to be wondering the way it is feasible that the airline’s signature clothing becomes a part of a hard-wearing product.
The place to begin of Finnair’s revolutionary recycling strategy are worn-out uniforms. Using sustainable manufacturing practices, Image Wear blends shredded textiles from such uniforms with recycled plastic particles, thus creating latest composite materials. These are made from 48% recycled textile, 48% recycled plastic, and 4% binders and may be shaped into various items specifically designed for outdoor use.
Photo: Image Wear
The advantages of composite materials
Commenting on Finnair’s latest recycling campaign, Kati Tukiainen, Image Wear Responsibility Manager, underlined how the benefits of composite materials are manifold.
Most significantly, nonetheless, composite products are durable, with an estimated lifespan of as much as 50 years. Furthermore, at the tip of their lifecycle, these things may be recycled again and was latest products. Subsequently, recycling worn-out clothes prevent them from ending up as waste and progressively extends their lifecycle in latest different forms.
Some interesting facts about Finnair’s uniforms
Uniforms play a central role in shaping an airline’s brand image. What do you understand about Finnair’s?
The Finnish flag carrier first introduced uniforms in 1947, when Finnair’s predecessor, Aero O/Y, counted six female cabin crew. Male stewards indeed began to be employed later, in 1959. The airline’s signature dark blue suit was designed by a tailor at the lads’s tailor shop within the famous Stockmann department store in Helsinki. The airline’s current uniform was designed by Ritva-Liisa Pohjalainen and was introduced in 2011.
Image: Finnair
Finnair’s current uniforms primarily aim on the comfort and well-being of those that wear them. Moreover, these uniforms have been designed to be as durable as possible to satisfy the airline’s sustainability principles. Actually, Finnair’s uniform strategy supports the airline’s aim to be an lively member of Finland’s sustainable and circular economy.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace I Easy Flying
In case you are captivated with airlines’ uniforms and would love to have a more in-depth have a look at Finnair’s signature clothing during the last 100 years, be sure to not miss the airline’s unique display at Helsinki Airport because the airline celebrates its centenary this 12 months.
Do you think that Finnair’s recycling strategy will turn into an example for other carriers in the long run? Tell us by clicking on the comment button below!