A statement issued by the airline said “Each Emirates ecoTHREAD™ blanket is made from 28 recycled plastic bottles. With the latest innovation, the bottles are recycled into plastic chips before being turned into yarn, creating a polar fleece material. The fine thread is then woven into soft blankets."

The environmentally-friendly blankets, part of Emirates commitment to product innovation and sustainability, were designed in partnership with Buzz, the world’s leading inflight product specialists.

Emirates already runs a green programme on board; recycling aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles, and clean paper products such as newspapers, magazines and cardboard cartons where possible.

“By the end of 2019, Emirates ecoTHREAD™ blankets would have rescued 88 million plastic bottles from landfills– equivalent to the weight of 44 A380 aircraft” the airline said, making it the largest sustainable blanket programme on board in the airline industry. The manufacturing process also uses recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which reduces energy emissions by 70%.