Leather from the airline’s retired business class seats is being used to produce fashionable lifestyle items.
Singapore Airlines has partnered with Bynd Artisan as part of the airline's Upcycling Project, an initiative to give a new life to retired commercial aircraft and in-flight service items. All products are indeed made with recycled leather from Singapore Airlines' business class seats. Let's have a look at the Upcycling Project collection.
The Singapore Airlines brand is renowned as one of the most luxurious in the airline industry, with the airline being named the second-best carrier in the world by Skytrax in 2021.
Singapore Airlines is reflecting its image of prestige and luxury even in its sustainability-focused campaigns. The last example of the airline's effort to engage in environmentally-friendly projects in a glamorous way is the partnership with Bynd Artisan, whose outcome is a collection of fashionable items made of recycled leather from the carrier's business class seats. The collection has been presented to the world as a celebration of travel and homecoming.
The idea behind choosing leather from business class seats resides in the romantic side of people traveling across the world with their wide range of stories. After many years of serving as a welcoming and comfortable product on board Singapore Airlines' aircraft, leather from the retired luxurious business class seats has now found a new life in the Upcycling Project collection, which includes four items:
All items are delivered in velvet drawstring bags, in line with the sustainability concept behind the products themselves; indeed, the packaging can be reused in many different ways.
Singapore Airlines' "The Upcycling project" aims to bring back to life different materials from the airline, including parts of retired aircraft or of in-flight items.
To do so, the airline has partnered with different brands, both homegrown and international, to develop classy and lifestyle items. Bynd Artisan, for instance, was established over 70 years ago as a bookbinding business led by a few highly-skilled craftsmen. The business, grown throughout the years, continues to be built on the concept of artisanal excellence.
It is not unheard of for airlines to sell parts of their retired aircraft and in-flight items, even though each carrier might have different reasons to do that. For instance, financially-troubled Thai Airways started to sell in-flight items and parts of their aircraft as a strategy to increase revenues when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. However, Singapore Airlines' Upcycling Project's rationale is the airline's commitment to the environment by reducing waste. Indeed, Singapore Airlines is currently experiencing a strong recovery, as suggested by a very solid first-quarter net profit in 2022.
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What do you think of the new collection by Singapore Airlines and Bynd Artisan? Let us know in the comments below!
Writer – Giacomo has almost two years of experience as an aviation reporter. Currently, he is pursuing a master’s in Air Transport Management at the University of Surrey. His main areas of interest include network and fleet planning, airline partnerships, aviation finance, and marketing. Currently based in the UK.