McDonald's Portugal transforms old crew uniforms into reusable bags for Ronald McDonald House Charities Portugal.

Turn old crew uniforms into reusable bags.

McDonald's Portugal launched brand-new crew uniforms for more than 9,500 employees last year, designed by young Portuguese designers Cátia Abreu and Melanie Melo. While crew members were eager to wear the new design, there was still the dilemma of what to do with the old uniforms, which numbered over 18,000 across the country.

How should that huge amount of clothing be handled? Can it be reused? If it can be reused, what products can be made?

Instead of discarding the outdated uniforms, McDonald's Portugal had a brilliant idea: what if they could repurpose the clothing by changing it into reusable tote bags? What if the reusable tote bags were packed with care supplies and donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities Portugal for children and families in need?

Circular collaboration to create reusable bags

From start to end, various significant stakeholders within McDonald's Portugal's supply chain were involved in the creation of reusable bags:

• HAVI, the logistics partner, gathered over 18,000 old uniforms from restaurants around the country to source fabric materials to produce reusable bags.
• Recutex - Reclaimed Textiles converted the apparel via several steps to create reusable bags, including separating the materials and spinning new fabric without the use of colors. 
• Finally, the reusable tote bags were designed by HR Group, the partner in charge of making the new uniforms.

"This reusable bag project represents yet another way for the brand to demonstrate its commitment to the environment and sustainability, finding more and more circular solutions that help respond to today's and tomorrow's concerns," says Inês Lima, Managing Director of McDonald's Portugal.

A new life for a good cause: use reusable bags.

But the partnership does not end there. McDonald's Portugal worked with its partners to create 5,500 reusable bags for RMHC Portugal, which were filled with comfort packs and sent to families and their children in seven hospitals around Portugal.

In 2023, McDonald's Portugal expanded the recycling effort by making even more reusable bags from old uniforms, this time as a prototype marketing campaign for MyMcDonald's Rewards. Customers may now use the app to redeem MyMcDonald's points for a sleek, 100% new reusable tote bag.

18,000 old crew uniforms are given new life with children, families, and brand enthusiasts thanks to a little circular inventiveness and a lot of teamwork.

Reusing old clothes into reusable bags is a very good idea to contribute to environmental protection.

TLPPACKAGING FOR SHOPPING BAGS