Worn Again has turned the old uniforms of Eurostar train managers into carry bags for the transport company’s senior staffers. The innovative recycling program has saved the discarded uniforms from landfill, and provided accessories for 250 employees.
Each unisex bag is made from pieces of old Eurostar jackets, raincoats, and train cushions. Worn Again’s artist and designer Benjamin Shine worked closely with the staff members on the handbags to ensure they’re functional as well as green.
Shine is confident that his firm can help more British companies adopt similar sustainable upcycling program. Worn Again plans to build a high-tech remanufacturing plant, which is capable of turning 10, 000 tones of corporate wear into new items, to achieve this goal.
Once these Eurostar bags wear out they’ll be collected and reprocessed, but the system does have its limitations. These materials have not been designed for continuous reuse, so there’ll come a point when they have to be discarded. However Worn Again and Eurostar are doing their best to bridge the gap with more thought into new manufacturing techniques and initial materials. In the meantime, just think about how long the fabrics have been kept out of landfill!
Worn Again’s current model and its plans for expanding it are admirable, and it’s exciting to see big companies like Eurostar jumping on board.
