Southwest Airlines' 'Green Plane' Environmentally-Friendly Prototype

Southwest Airlines’ ‘Green Plane’ is a refurbished a Boeing 737-700 that will serve as test lab of eco-friendly products and practices.

Among the materials that the Green Plane will test are 100% recyclable carpet squares that eliminate the need for full replacement as well as two different weight-reducing sustainable seat cover materials—discarded leather shavings, e-Leather and synthetic IZIT Leather.

The environmentally-friendly prototype will add an on-board recycling program November 1.

Implications - As environmental awareness continues to drive design of both objects and processes in commerce and industry, experimental projects like Southwest Airlines’ Green Plane provide an opportunity for busy business travellers and corporate executives to experience, at no risk, increasingly eco-friendly choices. Even otherwise conservative consumers can be wooed by a green-for-all when it is packaged in luxury.