By David Ashford
At a time when air travel is banned for all of us and struggling companies run by billionaires have recently come under scrutiny for requesting government bail outs (Richard Branson yes, we’re looking at you!), it may be worth reminding ourselves of some of the good work these big organisations have done over the years to help make the world a better place.
With sustainable fashion in mind, Branson came up with an innovative idea regarding his company’s uniform, which saw plastic bottles being recycled into shirts for his employees. He came up with the idea, which sounds futuristic at best, way back in 2013.
Virgin Atlantic staff have been wearing the iconic red uniform in the skies and on the ground since the first flight took off from Gatwick to Newark in 1984, and the distinctive outfit has played a vital role in representing the airline’s identity and ethos.
Since then, the iconic uniform has gone through various iterations, designed by high profile fashion designers from David and Elizabeth Emanuel to John Rocha. In 2013, Richard Branson revealed that Vivienne Westwood would be the latest designer to take on the challenge of putting her twist on the uniform, which at that point was due an update.
Tackling global warming
“Both Vivienne and myself spend a lot of time in our businesses trying to tackle problems of global warming and the like,” Branson told the airline staff website Ruby. “Virgin Atlantic has a distinct spirit and from a design perspective we continually try to challenge the norm and stand out from the crowd.”
With sustainability in the forefront of her mind, Vivienne Westwood came up with a clever design that saw items – including the red staff handbags (which had previously been leather) – now constructed from 100% recycled materials.
The handbags were created using recycled canvas, re-used roadside banners, unused leather off-cuts, and recycled brass, produced in the Kibera slum, Nairobi, where discarded metal such as padlocks and car pieces are collected then melted down.
Ethical Africa programme
These revolutionary red handbags were produced for Virgin through the Ethical Africa Programme, in collaboration with the International Trade Centre.
Many items from the new uniform, including the shirts, jackets and neck scarves were made using recycled fibres, working in particular with recycled polyester yarn produced from used plastic bottles. They are made from recycled Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) a material created from workable yarn that is produced from smashed, melted, polymerized and spun recycled plastic bottles.
All the items were developed with Closed Loop Recycling in mind; this new technology takes worn polyester clothing and turns it back into fibres that can be woven again into new fabrics and subsequent new clothing.
From a statement published on Ruby, Vivienne Westwood said: “I am always trying to find fabrics that are more friendly to the environment – working with Virgin Atlantic they managed to research this and find more eco fabrics for me to work with.”
Over 7,500 staff including cabin crew, pilots, Clubhouse staff and Virgin Holidays employees received the new eco-friendly uniforms in 2014 and it seems they set a precedent as other airlines such as Air France and Norwegian have since followed suit.
It’s so important that big companies play their part in considering more sustainable options. Let’s hope that we can admire these forward-thinking uniforms on board soon, when we are able to fly again (post-lockdown restrictions!)
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