BUILDING BRIDGES : Emirates embarks on a sustainable journey in Nigeria, creating bags from its billboards
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 years, while the tote bags were given to the
teachers. Also included in the bags was 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.”
He added, “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 principal of one of the participating schools, MAYOM
Wisdom Academy, Apostle Paul OmolereAwoletan 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 principal 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 bag manufacturers who partnered with Emirates on the
project, Karen Anolefo, CEO, Chitoz Limited 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”.
RoselineObamoyegun, 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% 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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