In an effort to reduce waste in the manufacturing process, Japanese carmaker Subaru has teamed up with another company to help it produce special shopping bags from unused airbag material. The whole project is in the spirit of sustainability and ecology, which is not always the case with conventional "eco" bags.
Subaru has shopping bags made from airbags
Subaru is having reusable shopping bags made from fabric designed for airbags, an important safety feature in today’s cars. The bags are made from surplus material (nylon) that is usually discarded at the airbag factory. However, thanks to Toyota’s partner company Toyoda Gosei, even the ‘waste’ material is being put to good use.
Subaru’s bags are white and have either a blue or red stripe. Thanks to their soft fabric, the “airbag bags” can be folded into a very compact square and have an elastic band that holds the folded square together, which is handy if you want to store the bag somewhere so it doesn’t take up too much space. The price is 2,500 yen, or 19 USD.
What is more environmentally friendly?
The world is going down the path of sustainability and a focus on being more green. However, in the case of the bag, this does not necessarily mean that people will buy shopping bags made of more biodegradable polypropylene. In fact, such a bag will not last long. In the case of ‘airbags’, it is waste that is generated in the production of airbags anyway, but is used to produce a useful product that can last for decades.
Earlier this year, Toyoda Gosei also announced a collaboration with another company to produce sneakers made from airbag fabric. So it seems that airbags can contribute to the world not only by improving safety in vehicles, but also in the field of sustainability and ecology, what do you think?
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