Emirates kicks off a global distribution of handmade children’s backpacks made from upcycled aircraft interiors, starting in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia
Supporting children’s education and making meaningful connections within the communities it serves, Emirates has engaged with 6 entities across Africa to provide more than 1,300 handmade schoolbags and essential stationery supplies to young students. Each schoolbag is a piece of history – a limited-edition bag from Emirates’ Aircrafted range, made from the fabrics and parts of Emirates’ iconic aircraft. The distribution across Africa kickstarts a larger initiative by Emirates to repurpose and upcycle materials for the benefit of children across the globe.
Aircrafted Kids by Emirates arrives in Africa
In Zimbabwe, Emirates collaborated with St Marcellin’s Children’s Village Trust and Rose of Sharon, two not-for-profit entities that care for vulnerable children, and provide a nurturing and inspirational space for children’s education. In Zambia, Emirates partnered with the Kucetekela Foundation, supporting academically promising, financially disadvantaged children, and the Alliance for Children Everywhere (ACE) Zambia, protecting families and vulnerable children and strengthening communities through economic empowerment and education.
In Ethiopia, Emirates worked with Bravehearts Ethiopia, an NGO devoted to empowering vulnerable children with a focus on quality education, and also with Roots Ethiopia, which focuses on supporting several aspects of children’s education, specifically in rural areas. Through the Emirates Airline Foundation, Emirates has a long history of supporting children’s welfare programmes, and Aircrafted Kids is an extension of this work.
The next stops on the Aircrafted Kids schoolbags trail are India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, with several more to follow.
The making of Aircrafted Kids schoolbags
As part of its environmental strategy, which includes responsible consumption, Emirates has committed to repurposing over 50,000 kilograms of materials from 205 aircraft currently undergoing cabin interior refurbishment. The team at Emirates Engineering explored various ways to reuse and upcycle the old materials, ultimately designing a collection of durable backpacks. The high-quality seat fabric from Emirates’ Economy Class seats is made of 95% wool and 5% nylon—a flat weave structure sourced from Germany and Ireland. This material is ideal for upcycling due to its durability and fire-resistant properties.
In a dedicated workshop at Emirates, a team of 14 Engineering Maintenance Assistants creatively designed and tailored a range of backpacks suitable for children of different ages. The Emirates Corporate Communications, Marketing & Brand team then identified charities, schools, and foundations where the bags could have the greatest impact, liaising with NGOs to understand their specific needs. The teams spent weeks researching designs, ensuring the bags were both safe and comfortable for children to use. Every bag underwent professional laundering, additional deep cleaning by hand, leather conditioning for accents, and thorough disinfection before being sewn into unique pieces. New linings, functional zips, and adjustable straps were added before the bags were packed into specially branded ‘Aircrafted Kids’ boxes and shipped to their final destinations.
With transport and logistics fully supported by Emirates’ SkyCargo teams and dnata Logistics across continents, Aircrafted Kids by Emirates brought together the airline’s employees to achieve a meaningful goal.
