To coincide with Earth Day (April 22), Air Canada detailed the lifecycle of its uniforms, explaining that there are many options for garments, textiles and fabrics to be reused or upcycled.
Air Canada’s uniforms team looks at each item to find the right fit under four sustainability programmes: Rewear, Donate, Transform and Repurpose.
Gently used items are cleaned and made available, at no cost, to employees.
Surplus new, but outdated uniform pieces are given to Brands for Canada, an organisation that helps direct surplus clothing to families in need through its partnerships with charities and schools.
Items that are damaged or too old to wear are sent to Debrand, which ensures that the materials are recycled or upcycled for use as other products, such as furniture stuffing.
In 2025, Air Canada provided around 4,500 kg (10,000 lbs) of garments to Debrand and Brands for Canada combined.
Charlène Lohezic, Marketing Advisor – Uniform Employee Experience at Air Canada, said: “It’s always worthwhile to send back an item you no longer need, since some of our programs are very specific. For example, we launched a cotton-to-rags programme last year to transform 100% cotton t-shirts into cleaning supplies for Maintenance. So far, we’ve received about 150 t-shirts and made more than 300 rags.”
