Iberia is launching a new uniform-recycling project. The airline says the garments that made up the airline’s old uniform will be donated as humanitarian aid to the Spanish Red Cross, Cáritas, Mensajeros de la Paz and Humana, among other NGOs.
As previously reported (Iberia unveils new uniforms),the carrier is introducing a new uniform which is being designed by Teresa Helbig. As the transition to the new uniforms happens, the old garments will either be donated or recycled, rather than going to landfill.
In parallel, the airline, together with Envera, has launched the non-profit Association of Iberia Employees – Parents of People with Disabilities, to give a second life to the previous uniforms. Envera is a non profit entity based in Madrid aiming to allow “people with intellectual disabilities to occupy their place in the world with dignity.”
The airline says that on average, Iberia’s members of staff each own fourteen items of clothing and accessories, which represents more than 50 tonnes of textile products to be collected and recycled.
The first two tonnes of garments have already been collected and classified, so that they can be donated or transformed into other materials.
The 20 per cent of garments that cannot be reused will be recycled into other materials, and those that are discarded will be used for energy recovery as fuel.
The Iberia airports business, Iberia Airport Services, is also carrying out an initiative to recycle its red polo shirts, which, being made entirely of cotton, can be completely recycled. The thread will be used at local and inclusion workshops to make new polo shirts for the same Iberia Airport staff.
The airline says that reusing textiles contributes to the fight against climate change as every kilogramme of clothing that is repurposed, 6.1kg of CO2 emissions are cut, according to a study by the Humana People to People Foundation.
Nathaniel Otley
