Starting this month, Delta Air Lines will accelerate their sustainability efforts with a refresh of their onboard product offering with artisan-made amenity kits, recycled bedding, reusable and biodegradable service ware and premium canned wine.
On Tuesday (January 25, 2022), Delta Air Lines announced an acceleration of their efforts to build a more sustainable people-first future for air travel. Starting this month, the carrier will roll out a refreshed onboard product offering including artisan-crafted amenity kits, recycled bedding, reusable and biodegradable service ware and premium canned wine. Combined, these products will reduce onboard single-use plastics by around 4.9 million pounds per year, the equivalent weight of 1,500 standard-sized automobiles.
In Tuesday’s announcement, Delta Air Lines’ Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer, Allison Ausband, said,
“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. 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.”
Also commenting on the carrier’s ongoing sustainability commitment, Delta’s Vice President of Sustainability, Amelia DeLuca, said,
“Delta has always put people at the center of everything we do. It’s this people-first focus that led Delta to source new products onboard that reduce waste, bolster diverse suppliers and build communities. We want to protect our planet and the people on it, and the products we provide onboard are the latest way we’re living out this commitment.”
As part of the new onboard product roll out, Delta has partnered with Mexican Apparel Brand ‘Somewhere Somewhere’ to create Delta One® amenity kits. Delta’s partnership with the company has created jobs for over 250 people in five of Mexico’s most vulnerable states, with Somewhere Somewhere combining traditional Mexican handcrafts with innovative products. The new amenity kits eliminate five single-use plastic items, including zippers and packaging, which reduces up to 90,000 pounds of plastic annually. The company’s production processes also eliminate waste and uses recycled cotton. The new kits will launch in February and will include a Somewhere Somewhere eye mask, Grown Alchemist natural lip balm and hand lotion, as well as a Humble Co. bamboo toothbrush. Additionally, from April 2022, both Grown Alchemist products will transition to Aluminum packaging.
Delta One® Amenity Kits by Somewhere, Somewhere, Featuring Grown Alchemist Skincare Products – Courtesy Delta Air Lines
Next, Delta One’s soft, comfortable, premium bedding sets are made from over 100 recycled plastic bottles, repurposing over 25 million bottles annually. Delta is one of the first airlines to use 100 percent recycled polyester (rPET) bedding, which, when combined with reusable packaging, reduces single-use plastic by up to 260,000 pounds per year. The sustainable bedding began appearing in Delta One in December 2021.
Delta's New Range of Sustainable Onboard Products - Courtesy Delta Air Lines
Additionally, Delta now offers bamboo cutlery for domestic First Class fresh packaged meals and on select international flights. later this year, Main Cabin guests will also see new de dishware, bamboo cutlery and a premium paper placemat. These additional sustainability measures complement previous measures to reduce single-use plastic onboard such as the removal of air sticks, service ware wrappers and straws which took place on 2018.
Finally, wine aficionados will notice two new aluminum-canned wines from Imagery Estate Winery, a premium Sonoma Winery led by award-winning winemaker Jamie Benziger, who was named Best Winemaker in 2019 at the International Women’s Wine Competition and named to Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40 list. Delta will offer Imagery Estate’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay starting with select transcontinental flights this month and will expand to all domestic flights later this year. The aluminum packaging will reduce annual plastic use by up to 250,000 pounds. Imagery’s wines are also grown sustainability, as certified by the California Sustainable Winegrowing alliance.
Source: Delta Air Lines