Emirates - From Ad To Bag

Emirates - From Ad To Bag

Following Air France’s initiative last year to work together with French social enterprise Bilum to upcycle old advertising posters into stylish bags, Emirates recently turned a 208 square meter poster into over 300 quirky and reusable shopping bags.

In a project which aims to highlight 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 upcycled 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 it took 10 workers 16 days to repurpose the enormous poster into bags. The handcraft production of a single bag took about 27 minutes, involving 13 different steps, including cutting and washing the poster, sewing on straps and assembling the material (video ).

Each bag has been imprinted with the airline’s ‘Where will you be tomorrow’ tagline. Lightweight, with an inside pocket and made of durable textile. The bags were gifted to visitors of an open air cinema screening in Zurich.