BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Sustainable Airline Amenity Kits Are The New Must-Have. Here Are Some Standouts

This article is more than 4 years old.

Think of a typical airline amenity kit – the kind you find in business and first class on long-haul flights – and what comes to mind? Probably a poorly made case with a zipper that will break some time soon, and maybe a few things inside that you’ll use, but probably only once. A poor-quality toothbrush, some overly scented moisturizer, and a pair of socks with no shape at all that are barely worth putting on. Plastic wrapping everywhere. Sometimes the case itself is reasonably well-made and nicely designed, and these can be handy to hold onto, but even in that case the typical thing to do is toss all the contents in the trash.

The good news is: airlines are realizing they need to raise their sustainability game. As part of that they’re waking up to the fact that a beautiful amenity kit with local touches that’s sustainably made can be a great way to show passengers they’re making an effort. They can’t stop burning jet fuel just yet, so the little touches matter. And those little touches can add up. Consider how much plastic waste one of these can produce when multiplied across dozens of passengers per flight, and thousands of flights per year. It isn’t going to fix the climate crisis, but it’s still something to celebrate. With that in mind, here are three standouts in the new wave of sustainable airline amenity kits.

Finnair

Finnair has worked with Finnish design house Marimekko for a long time, and it works very well for the brand. They even have a handful of planes painted in Marimekko prints, and they look great. Their latest amenity kit keeps that tradition going, adorned in a range of lovely prints. Inside, plastic and packaging has been significantly reduced, and the toothbrush is fashioned out of corn starch.

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin have received well-deserved press for their new Upper Class and Premium Economy kits, which they’ve called the “most sustainable in the sky.” They claim these save 945 metric tons (that’s 1,041 US tons) of plastic each year, equivalent to 74 metric tons of CO2 emissions. The kits, made of a durable paper-like material, also look great, and they include handy, eco-friendly items like a bamboo toothbrush. Special credit is due for the socks, which actually look like something you’d want to keep and wear.

Icelandair

Icelandair is keeping up its end with a new amenity kit launched this year themed around Icelandic wildlife. Kits are made from a combination of recycled canvas, vegan leather, and felt made from recycled plastic bottles. Most contents are wrapped in paper instead of plastic. And again we get a cornstarch-based toothbrush. The kits are very fetching, and the wildlife inspiration is present in a nice little detail: on the puffin-themed kit, for example, the tag attached to the zipper looks like a puffin’s beak. Also available is an arctic fox kit, and in 2020, we’ll see Icelandic horse and raven varieties too.

This is not an exhaustive list, but perhaps it’s not surprising that the northern European airlines are leading the pack with their amenity kit innovations. That’s likely because customers in the northerly nations tend to be the most vocal these days when it comes to demanding better sustainability practices. It’s high time we saw the rest of the world’s airlines catch up. This is a small step, yes, but it’s long overdue.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn