When you snuggle down on an Emirates economy flight, few would believe that best way to keep warm is to cover yourself in old plastic bottles.
But the carrier begs to differ. Emirates has introduced new sustainable blankets made from 100 per cent recycled plastic containers. The blankets are made using ecoTHREAD patented technology and they are now available in economy class on all long-haul Emirates flights.
Each Emirates ecoTHREAD blanket is made from 28 recycled plastic bottles, which are recycled into plastic chips before being turned into yarn, creating a “polar fleece” material. The fine thread is then woven into soft blankets.
The environmentally-friendly blankets were designed in partnership with Buzz, an inflight product specialist based in Australia. Emirates already runs a green programme on board its aircraft recycling aluminium cans, plastic and glass bottles, and clean paper products such as newspapers, magazines and cardboard cartons where possible.
By the end of 2019, Emirates estimates, ecoTHREAD blankets will have consumed 88 million plastic bottles that would otherwise be destined for landfill – equivalent to the weight of 44 the carrier’s Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft, it said.
“This initiative makes it the largest sustainable blanket programme on board in the airline industry,” Emirates said.
“In addition, the manufacturing process of using recycled polyethylene terephthalate reduces energy emissions by 70 per cent.”
EcoTHREAD is certified with the Intertek Green Leaf Mark through the third-party testing and certification body Intertek, that independently verifies a product uses 100 per cent recycled materials.
chnelson@thenational.ae
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