It is often easy to bin items that have outlived their usefulness.
That was once the case for Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), which operates Malaysia Airlines and Firefly. It routinely paid scheduled waste contractors to dispose of items such as expired life vests, worn leather from aircraft seats and retired cabin crew uniforms, and then came the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We were discussing among the engineering team how to help the company, whether through cost reduction initiatives or anything we can contribute. We had a lot of materials to be scrapped and that’s when we came up with the idea of doing something with them,” said MAB Engineering Services design organisation manager Sharliza Shaari.
The team got to work immediately and produced prototypes in their after-work hours. The results ranged from a sofa fashioned out of engine cowling to keychains repurposed from old leather seat covers, complete with hot-foil stamped detailing.
Driven by a personal belief that nothing of value should go to waste, Sharliza even invested in a leather cutting machine and hot foil press to experiment.
The employee-led initiative soon evolved into a bigger, group-wide project aptly named Scrap2Fab, involving coordination among different departments.
Today, everyday essentials such as tote bags crafted from retired safety jackets (with pull tabs as charms), pouches made from repurposed leather seats and accessories from kebaya fabric are available for sale on the group’s Journify website.
For many travellers and aviation enthusiasts, these are mementos that evoke the exhilaration when soaring into the skies on a plane.
Highlighting the project’s role in redefining value, MAG chief sustainability officer and chief executive officer of loyalty and travel services Philip See said while Scrap2Fab may not be a big contributor to the group’s net zero target by 2050, it is powerful in sparking a mindset change in consumption and waste management.
“When we think about sustainability for airlines, we focus on reducing emissions, using biofuels, procuring next-generation aircraft and improving fuel-related operational efficiency.
“But these don’t generally engage passengers and employees. If we really want to change behaviour and culture and shift mindsets, it requires wonderful initiatives like Scrap2Fab to get people to think more about the assets and capital we have,” he said.
Adding to Scrap2Fab’s impact is its collaboration with community partners such as the Prisons Department and Komuniti Tukang Jahit.
Sharliza shared that about 10 male inmates in the sewing workshop of Seremban Prison are involved in the production. Depending on their skill levels, they are assigned tasks from measuring and marking to cutting and sewing. MAG compensates them according to the prison’s rate.
See drew a parallel between giving a second life to these discarded materials and offering an opportunity to the prisoners for renewal.
He added that this Scrap2Fab initiative is reinforcing MAG’s position as an innovative company and a responsible steward of resources.
“I hope the public sees us as being able to always rethink and reimagine things. Everything has some value, and we try as much as possible to retain value in everything we do.”
