Your pre-loved luggage can be turned into school chairs. Here’s where to donate them

The sustainable chairs will be donated to a school in the Philippines


Waste management is something that concerns many industries. With tons of unwanted products going to landfill, many brands are tasked to practice a more circular business model or find ways to prolong the lives of their discarded products. Travel luggage brand Samsonite knows the importance of its role of producers in keeping their products off the dump site. Just in time for Earth Month, the beloved brand is bringing back its Luggage Trade-In Campaign.

The campaign calls for everyone to donate their pre-loved luggage—any brand, size, and condition—to select Samsonite stores from April 25 to June 15, 2024. These bags will be turned into sustainable school chairs, as part of the brand’s continuous partnership with Envirotech Philippines, a recycling company specializing in producing products from plastic waste.  For its first run, the Luggage Trade-In Campaign collected over 1,000 pieces of luggage, which were melted, molded, pressed, and assembled into 120 recycled chars, filling five classrooms in Labo Elementary School in Marinduque.

Recycled chairs at Labo Elementary School in Marinduque made from traded-in Samsonite luggage pieces (1).jpg
Recycled chairs at Labo Elementary School in Marinduqutraded-ine from traded in Samsonite luggage pieces

According to the brand, over four tons of plastic waste were prevented from potentially ending up in landfills and oceans, and more than 100 trees were saved through the campaign. The products of the campaign, the hard-plastic chairs, are also made to last for more than 15 years, allowing them to be used by generations of students to come.

As a reward, participants will be gifted with up to 35 percent off on the brand’s Niar and Astra models, while stocks last. An ideal choice for all travelers, Astra is Samsonite’s luggage line characterized by its radial grooves and stylish design elements. Its features include a TSA combination lock, expanders for added capacity, and a practical interior for flexible packing. The Niar, on the other hand, is a versatile and trusty travel companion with its sleek design and special features such as double wheels, integrated carry handles, a dual-tube trolley puller, compression straps, TSA combination lock, and an expander.

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Astra in graphite, red, and blue colors
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Niar in silver and graphite color

In partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines, the world’s leading conservation organization, Samsonite will donate P100 for every trade-in transaction.

To learn more about Samsonite’s Luggage Trade-in campaign, visit @samsoniteph on Instagram, @Samsonite.Philippines on Facebook, and its official website www.samsonite.com.ph.

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