SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF AWARD-WINNING SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM: REPURPOSE WITH PURPOSE
Program fosters lifelong social impact with nonprofit organizations and has kept more than 1.4 million pounds of aircraft seat leather out of landfills
"We're proud of the progress we're making alongside our community partners to find new uses for aircraft seat leather through sustainable solutions," said
The program also complements sustainability efforts defined by
The Repurpose with Purpose program has:
- Rerouted more than 1.4 millionpounds of leather away from landfills to nonprofit partners that help provide employment, skills training, and workforce development programs.
- Donated more than
$2 million in grants to nonprofit partners across the globe. - Generated more than
$1 million in revenue since 2017 for nonprofit partners from the sale of upcycled products. - Been named Runner Up in the Eco-Innovator category for the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship 2024 Innovation Awards, recognizing
Southwest as a company that has marshaled the financial and human resources at its disposal to address an environmental issue affecting or relating to that company's core competencies. - Collaborated with 12 global nonprofit partners to foster community solutions and expanded opportunities for thousands of individuals, such as:
- Wearsos, an organization focused on transforming lives through upcycling that provides employment opportunities for marginalized people, championing women empowerment, and creating impact within communities in
Costa Rica . This spring, Wearsos, launched their e-commerce site throughSouthwest support; - Longtime Repurpose with Purpose partner, Rethreaded, an organization that harnesses the power of business, community, and time by employing and providing wrap-around services for women who survived human trafficking. Rethreaded has sold more than 38,000 items created using
Southwest leather, generating more than$1 million in revenue to support employment of more than 80 women who are survivors of human trafficking; Houston -based nonprofit design house, Magpies & Peacocks, dedicated to the collection, curation, and sustainable reuse of post-consumer textiles to disrupt the cycle of waste in the fashion industry; and- Help Heal Veterans, an organization providing therapeutic craft kits since 1971 to veterans and active-duty military that helps healing through creativity from the visible and invisible wounds of war. Help Heal Veterans has created more than 200,000 kits since 2018 using
Southwest aircraft seat leather.
- Wearsos, an organization focused on transforming lives through upcycling that provides employment opportunities for marginalized people, championing women empowerment, and creating impact within communities in
Customers traveling this year also can see pieces created by Southwest Repurpose with Purpose partners at airport exhibits across the country. Exhibits at
For more on the Southwest Repurpose with Purpose program, visit southwest.com/repurposewithpurpose.
ABOUT
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Our net zero by 2050 goal includes Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Category 3 emissions only and excludes any emissions associated with non-fuel products and services, such as inflight service items. |
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Circularity at |
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Fulltime-equivalent active Employees |
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1973-2019 annual profitability |
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