In an effort to promote sustainable living and make a positive impact on local communities, Emirates gave its old advertising billboards in Nigeria a new purpose, transforming the PVC Flex material into hundreds of reusable bags.
The advertising banners collected from Lagos
and Abuja, were upcycled – the heavy-duty, PVC Flex material was used to
produce school bags and carryalls that were donated to students of two
schools in Lagos.In time for the start of the new academic year, two
Nigerian entrepreneurs were commissioned to produce 200 school bags and
100 tote bags using the recycled billboard material.The school bags were
presented to children from MAYOM Wisdom Academy and Ken Ade Primary
School, both located in Makoko, Lagos.The school bags were given out to
primary school students between the ages of five and nine, while the
tote bags were given to the teachers.Also included in the bags were
stationery and activity books from Emirates’ on-board products for
children.Emirates’ Regional Manager West Africa, Afzal Parambil, said:
“Recycling and sustainability cannot be ignored if we want leave a
better planet for future generations. We have close ties with Nigeria
and believe this is a meaningful way to engage our wider community and
make a positive impact on society. This initiative also ties in with
what we are doing on-board our aircraft with reducing single-use plastic
on flights. It is gratifying to think that our advertising billboards
have been reused in this creative way, that can enhance the school
experience for so many children.“It’s been wonderful to see the
delighted smiles it has brought to the students, as well as partnering
with local entrepreneurs and their talented teams who have worked
tirelessly to make the bags, and bring this vision to life. Over the
years, we have introduced multiple sustainable best practices which
include our sustainable blankets produced from 100% recycled bottles and
a young, fuel efficient fleet of aircraft.”The PVC Flex material is
durable, strong, water resistant, tough, and light-weighted, having good
colour fastness.These qualities will ensure the bags serve the
recipients for a relatively long time.The Headmaster of one of the
participating schools, MAYOM Wisdom Academy, Apostle Paul Omolere
Awoletan, said: “Thank you Emirates for this amazing initiative,
perfectly timed for the start of the new school year. It’s very
satisfying to see our students carrying their own bespoke bags and we
appreciate the story behind it. It will be a constant reminder of how we
need to be sustainable for future generations.”The Headmaster of
Ken-Ade Private Primary school, Hon. Ayeseminikan B.S.E, described it
as: “Fantastic idea and a perfect gift for students going back to
school.”The CEO of the bag manufacturers, Chitoz Limited, who partnered
with Emirates on the project, Karen Anolefo, said: “The idea of
recycling is beautiful. As a small business owner, I appreciate the
opportunity from Emirates to work on such a unique project that is not
only utilitarian, but a real example of how we can live sustainably.
Emirates has also done well by supporting Nigerian students; it goes a
long way to build emotional connections with the community.”Roseline
Obamoyegun, whose company, Ajidun Ventures, also produced the bags said:
“I sincerely thank Emirates for considering me to be a part this
project. Being a single parent, the production of bags is what I depend
on as a means of livelihood. Trusting me with this project is
significant. I join Emirates in saying ‘No to waste’ and ‘Yes’ to
helping the less privileged.”In 2017, Emirates introduced sustainable
blankets produced from 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles.Using
patented ecoTHREAD technology, each blanket is made from 28 recycled
plastic bottles.It is estimated that by the end of 2019, Emirates’
ecoTHREAD blankets would have rescued 88 million plastic bottles from
landfills.Nigerian customers can look forward to seeing the blankets on
board on all flights out of Lagos and Abuja.
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