In its commitment to environmental sustainability, Icelandair has announced a new collaboration to produce a line of unique, recycled luggage tags. The partnership will see the airline join with Reykjavik-based sustainability project and design studio, Plastplan, which specializes in innovating ways to recycle plastic waste into useful products, working towards a sustainable future.Attendees of DesignMarch 2022 were the first to get their hands on the tags ahead of production, with Icelandair employees expected to receive their own in the coming weeks.Björn Steinar Blumenstein, Founder at Plastplan, commented,
“It's exciting to see the collaboration with Icelandair come to life with our first product ready for the world to see. We believe initiatives such as this one are crucial to change our perspective on plastic and disposable objects in general, guiding us towards a more circular future.“
Góðan Tag!
The luggage tags are made from plastic recycled from Icelandair’s operations, with each tag comprising around 16g of plastic or eight recycled bottle caps. While the partnership is in the early days, there is a long-term goal to make the luggage tags available to all Icelandair customers.
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The carrier has thrown its support and sponsorship into the Icelandic design festival to celebrate local creativity, arts, and innovation. The luggage tags are actually a year in the making, with Icelandair having seen Plastplan’s design projects at last year's DesignMarch, inspiring them to work together to create a fun and green product.
Ásdís Ýr Pétursdóttir, Director of Communications & Sustainability at Icelandair, added,
“We are delighted to announce the news of our partnership with Plastplan at this year’s DesignMarch festival. As Iceland’s national carrier, we do our very best to represent the sustainable efforts and mindset of the Icelandic people. With the launch of this partnership, we are taking another step toward reducing plastic waste and doing our bit in the fight to ensure a sustainable future for the aviation industry.”
Sustainability efforts
Considering itself an “environmentally-conscious” carrier, Icelandair has been working on several environmental initiatives to support Iceland and the environment. Plans include a commitment to reduce its emissions through the modernization of its fleet, conserving natural resources, and moving toward sustainable alternatives, with an overarching goal of minimizing the airline’s environmental impact and using its platform to support eco-endeavors on the island nation.
In November 2021, the airline was one of 20 airline members of the World Economic Forum’s Target True Zero to commit to using new technologies such as electric and hydrogen aircraft to challenge climate change.
The commitments emphasize supporting novel propulsion technologies on short-haul journeys by working towards 30% of aircraft on 750 km or less routes by 2030, partnerships, and cooperation with the private sector and aerospace manufacturers to prioritize green innovation and infrastructure. Other signatories of the commitments include Air New Zealand, easyJet, and Loganair.
What do you think of Icelandair and Plastplan’s new partnership? What other ways could the airline support environmentalism in Iceland? Let us know in the comments.