Subaru transforms leftover airbag fabric into shopping bags
Is this the safest way to carry groceries home from the supermarket? Left-over sheets of the airbag fabric used in new Subaru cars have been turned into shopping bags in Japan.
Japanese car-maker Subaru has repurposed offcuts from the production of airbags into reusable shopping bags – and if you live in Japan, you can buy one.
The shopping bags are sold on Subaru’s Japanese online store, but are produced by Toyoda Gosei – a Japanese manufacturer of automotive parts, which is part-owned by Toyota, but also supplies components for Subaru cars.
They are priced from 2750 yen ($AU31); Subaru says delivery is only available to addresses within Japan.
Subaru says the supermarket bags are produced from “unused fabric that was supposed to be installed as an airbag in a car,” and are available with blue or pink accents, and reflective stripes on the handles.
They are said to measure 550mm tall, 340mm wide and 120mm deep, and be large enough to carry a towel.
The Subaru-branded bags are part of a broader range of recycled airbag-derived products made by Toyoda Gosei, including ‘tote’ bags made from dyed airbag off-cuts, with seatbelts used as the handles.
The company also sells wallets made from leather destined for car steering wheels, and last year used airbag offcuts to create a pair of running shoes.
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