This Tote Has Been Places

This Tote Has Been Places,
and This Is Only the Beginning

Meet this limited-edition tote created exclusively for the UBS and crafted using upcycled surplus fabrics donated by British Airways. Our unique collaboration champions responsible design by turning complex aviation surplus textiles into purposeful, fashion-forward accessories.

Click through the video to discover the journey.

From Sky to Street

We like to shoot for the stars. And this tote - made from upcycled airline surplus - does just that. Here’s the backstory…

Every Stitch is a Statement

This tote carries more than just your essentials - it carries meaning. Every stitch reminds the world that waste isn’t waste until we waste it. The fashion industry discards 92 million tonnes of textiles every year.¹

The totes were crafted in partnership with Fashion Enter a London-based social enterprise committed to sustainable manufacturing and skills training. Through its repair centre, it employs and trains people who have challenges finding employment.

This tote stands as strong proof that we can do better. The impact shown reflects what a typical The R Collective tote achieves when unwanted textiles are given a new life:

^* All of R Products come with calculations of waste rescued and they carry our R Mark, our hallmark that assures the rescue of waste for reuse or recycling. For select projects, we provide estimated carbon emissions and water savings per product.

Onwards and Upwards: Upcycling Takes Off

From high-end retail to our latest partnership with British Airways, we’re proving that premium surplus can be reimagined into stylish, purposeful pieces.

We believe this is just the beginning of an exciting chapter - a glimpse of what’s possible when design thinking meets industry-leading surplus, waste becomes a resource and industries start to see value where they once saw landfill.

About The R Collective

We are a social impact business rescuing, reusing and recycling fashion’s waste to create responsible circular products and recycling solutions for global businesses.

Through our system, we have to date reclaimed 123 tons* of fashion waste including textiles, garments, leather, leather goods and trims.

^¹ ‘Pulse of the fashion industry’, Global Fashion Agenda and The Boston Consulting Group (2017)