Emirates ‘bags’ its advertising

Wednesday, 27 August 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Emirates’ advertising banners got a second life, when the airline recently transformed a 208 square meter poster into over 300 quirky and reusable shopping bags.

In a project which highlights Emirates’ fashion forward credentials and commitment to sustainable practices, the PVC material of a giant Emirates Cabin Crew poster originally displayed outside Zurich Airport, was repurposed into a limited edition line of “up-cycled” shopping bags with the help of Feinschliff, a socially integrative company in Switzerland which supports long-term unemployed people in returning to the labour market. First, two industrial climbers worked for two days to carefully remove the mega poster from its display wall. The poster was then packed and sent to Feinschliff, where a team of 10 workers transformed the material into highly covetable arm candy. “We’re always looking for ways to minimise our environmental footprint and engage with the communities we serve. This project gave us an opportunity to do just that. What better way to dispose of a giant piece of PVC than by giving it new life as a shopping bag – perfect for the globetrotting globalista,” said Boutros Boutros, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications Marketing and Brand. It took 10 workers 16 days to repurpose the enormous poster into bags. The handcraft production of a single bag takes about 27 minutes, involving 13 different steps, including cutting and washing the poster, sewing on straps and assembling the material.

Each distinctive, yet practical bag has been imprinted with the airline’s ‘Where will you be tomorrow’ tagline. Lightweight, with an inside pocket and made of durable textile, these bags are sure to be this season’s must have fashion accessory for the lucky few who were gifted the bags during an open air cinema screening in Zurich. Emirates actively promotes recycling across its business, whether it is used newspapers left behind in aircraft cabins or obsolete electrical equipment no longer needed in its offices. Between 2010 and 2013, Emirates’ Engineering department alone recovered and recycled over 432 tonnes of materials from Boeing 777 cabin interiors.