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Uche Henry
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and in an effort to positively impact its local communities, Emirates Airlines has given its old advertising billboards in Nigeria a new purpose, transforming the polyester materials into hundreds of reusable bags for distribution to school pupils.
Emirates said the advertisement banners collected from Lagos and Abuja, were upcycled and that the heavy-duty, polyester flex materials were used to produce school bags and carryalls that were donated to students of two schools in Lagos.
According to the airline, two Nigerian entrepreneurs (seamstresses) were commissioned to produce 200 school bags and 100 tote bags using the recycled billboard material.
Recently, the school bags were presented to school 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 were stationery and activity books from Emirates’ on-board products for children.
At the presentation ceremony, Emirates’ Regional Manager, West Africa, Afzal Parambil, said, the polyester flex material is durable, stronger, water resistant, tough, and light-weighted, having good colour fastness. He said these qualities will ensure the bags serve the recipients for a longer time.
“Recycling and sustainability cannot be ignored if we want to leave a better planet for future generations,” said Parambil.
“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, and this initiative also ties in with what we are doing on-board our aircraft with reducing single-use plastic on flights,” he added.
The bags manufacturer who partnered with Emirates on the project, Karen Anolefo, who is the CEO of Chitoz Limited said, “the idea of recycling is beautiful. Emirates has done well by supporting Nigerian students; it goes a long way to build emotional connections with the community.”
Roseline Obamoyegun, whose company Ajidun Ventures, also produced the bags thanked Emirates for considering her to be a part the project.
“I join Emirates in saying ‘No to waste’ and ‘Yes’ to helping the less privileged,” she said.
