TEXTILES.ORG
When one thinks of upcycling, it’s generally about giving new life to something used. But at Bag To Life (B2L) of Germany, employees there are working with materials that have never been used—thankfully. They’re upcycling airplane life jackets into travel gear and accessories.
B2L has created more than 100 different products with the life jacket materials, diverting 450,000 kilograms (496 U.S. tons) of vests from going to a landfill, says sustainability ambassador Earl Diamond. In addition to different sizes and styles of bags, including a transparent 3-1-1 bag for liquid carry-on items (pictured), the product line also has keychains, including one with an Apple AirTag® pocket (pictured); mini wallets; passport covers; and luggage tags as well as home goods such as butterfly chairs and a BBQ apron and oven-mitt set (pictured).
The company reuses almost the entire jacket, including the belt, buckles, light, pull and whistle. Other materials used to make the products include surplus offcuts such as parachute silk and seat belt webbing.
Airline life jackets have a usable life of eight to 10 years, at which time airlines need to replace them due to the potential for weakening of the seam glue, Diamond says.
The idea for the business came about in 2010, when founder Kerstin Rank wondered on a flight about the recycling of life jackets. Lufthansa airlines helped the company launch not only by being a source of raw materials but also by testing designs and logistics.
“The airlines we work with have to make an effort to consolidate the expired vests in one place to make the economics of transport viable,” says Diamond. “In efforts like this, logistics are everything. Otherwise, you leave a big CO2 footprint moving them around.”
In addition to online sales on the company’s German and U.S. websites, Lufthansa also provides a sales outlet through the airline’s shops and onboard magazine. Bag To Life has also partnered with United Airlines for its expired vests and the sale of some branded items in its online shop.