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Worn Again Virgin creates trendy accessories out of recycled Virgin Atlantic seat covers

Zarina Holmes

Last updated 27/10/2008 00:49:29

Eco-fashion label Worn Again Virgin is introducing a unique range of bags made out of old Virgin Atlantic seat covers and other ingredients, including car seat belts, post-Glastonbury tents and bicycle inner tubes.

Worn Again is working with Virgin Atlantic to meet its goal to halve the waste it sends to landfill by 50% by 2012.

According to its CEO Cyndi Rhoades, the enterprise started when Worn Again approached a number of businesses about materials, which they discard in huge volumes, which could be made into new products.

She said, “Virgin Atlantic were one of the first to respond, offering us a stockpile of old seat covers salvaged from planes which were being refurbished.

We experimented with a variety of designs and products, which have now become Worn Again Virgin.”

The airline has successfully reduced the waste it produces in its offices and ground operations significantly and is working hard to reduce the waste it produces in the air.

A total of 2000 limited edition bags have been produced with materials from approximately 1000 seats.

It’s estimated that over 1 million tones of textiles are thrown away every year in the UK alone.

Worn Again believes some things are just too good to go to waste. All the bags are hand-made in family-run and small-scale workshops in Portugal.

Because they are made from recycled materials no two products are exactly the same.

The quality is impressive and the bags can easily pass as any trendy high street label accessories.

“First and foremost, the design has to speak for itself. No one wants to buy a product just because it's got eco-cred – it needs to look good and wears well,” explained Rhoades.

“Of course, ethical credentials are at the core of what we do, but we like to keep it behind the scenes - it's an added bonus!”