Singapore Airlines (SIA) has launched The Upcycling Project, through which it will provide parts and materials from retired commercial aircraft to various Singapore-based organisations and selected global retail brands. These parts can be upcycled and repurposed to create unique retail products and art pieces, and will also be used to support educational institutions, artists, and persons with disabilities.
The first initiative under The Upcycling Project will be a competition organised by SIA and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), that aims to promote awareness about design and upcycling among tertiary and pre-tertiary students in Singapore. Aircraft parts and materials will also be donated to several educational institutions, which they can use as learning materials for art or design courses.
SIA will donate aircraft parts and materials to Singapore-based educational institutions such as Institute of Technical Education, LASALLE College of the Arts, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Management University, and SUTD. These can be used as learning materials for their art or design courses, providing an opportunity for students to gain greater knowledge about the aviation industry.
SIA and SUTD are jointly organising a competition which will run from September 2021 to April 2022, to promote awareness about design and upcycling among tertiary and pre-tertiary students in Singapore. They will be challenged to think out of the box and repurpose aircraft parts and materials into items such as lifestyle and home products, furniture, clothing, and more. Selected products may also be sold by The Upcycling Project’s retail partners. Details of the competition will be announced by SUTD on 6 September 2021.
SIA has also appointed two Singapore-based brand and product consultants, Edwin Low, Founder of Supermama, and Adriana Lim Escaño, Chief Executive Officer of Abry. They will work with SIA to source for local and global retail brands that are keen to repurpose aircraft parts and materials into products such as bags, furniture, fashion apparels and accessories, and service ware. More information on the sale of the finished products will be announced closer to their launch dates.
Local art consultant Jazz Chong, who helms the Ode To Art gallery, will work with SIA to select Singapore-based artists and sculptors who will create unique art pieces using the upcycled materials. To date, four prominent artists and sculptors have been selected. Their completed art pieces will be sold exclusively at Ode To Art.
SIA will also work with SG Enable, an agency dedicated to supporting persons with disabilities, in their i’mable Collective initiative. Aircraft parts and materials will be provided to the i’mable Collective’s makers such as Singapore Fashion Runway and SPD. People with disabilities can fashion them into gifts and products for sale via the makers’ platforms, with the proceeds going directly to the makers.
Yeoh Phee Teik, Senior Vice President Customer Experience, Singapore Airlines, said: “The Upcycling Project is a unique opportunity to repurpose parts and materials from older retired aircraft, and find a new use for them. There was a lot of interest when we first broached the concept, and we are happy to be able to support a wide range of communities through this initiative. Our customers and fans will also have a rare opportunity to own exceptional art pieces, as well as the exclusive items that our retail partners will create.”
