Delta Air’s New Business Class Blanket is Made Out of 100 Recycled Plastic Bottles

Delta Air Lines is looking to boost its sustainability credentials with a slew of visible onboard product updates that will attempt to slash the amount of single-use plastic the airline gets through each year, as well as supercharging its recycling efforts and promoting partnerships with small locally run suppliers.

The measures are, whilst welcome, relatively small when compared to big-ticket items like the pressing need to develop readily available and reliable sustainable aviation fuel. But while Delta could be accused of ‘green-washing’, Allison Ausband, Delta’s executive vice president and chief customer experience officer says the airline is looking for every opportunity to accelerate its sustainability goals.

“Decisions we make on every aspect of our product are opportunities to make good on two core promises: to deliver exceptional customer experiences and build a better future for people and our planet,” Ausband commented on Tuesday.

“These latest additions deliver something unique to our customers, reduce our environmental impact and enable job creation for the communities we serve around the world.”

Over the last few months, Delta has already rolled out its recycled plastic bottle blankets for Delta One passengers but the airline is particularly proud of its new amenity kits that are made by Mexican apparel brand Someone Somewhere.

The partnership between Delta and the clothing brand has created jobs for 250 people, while the sustainably designed amenity kit completely eliminates five single-use plastic items with the net effect of saving as much as 900 pounds of plastic waste annually.

Pens are now made out of cardboard while plastic toothbrushes have been swapped out for bamboo alternatives. Grown Alchemist will supply products like lip balm and hand lotion in aluminum packaging.

Bamboo is also the material of choice for Delta’s new service ware in the Main cabin. The full rollout isn’t expected until later this year but the Atlanta-based airline expects to save as much as 4.3 million pounds of plastic waste per year once the bamboo cutlery replaces the old plastic knives and forks.

These latest initiatives are highly-visible, low-hanging fruit and Delta will have to do a lot more if it is to achieve its pledge of becoming the first carbon-neutral airline worldwide. Just before the pandemic, Delta committed $1 billion towards projects over the next 10-years to achieve that goal.

Despite the dramatic impact of the pandemic, Delta confirmed late last year that it was still committed to the project.