Suez part of Samsonite recycled-content supply chain

France-based Suez and Texas-based LyondellBasell say they have extended their collaboration with luggage maker Samsonite to produce a new range of suitcases using recycled plastics.

The companies say Quality Circular Polymers (QCP), the plastics recycling joint venture (JV) of Suez and LyondellBasell, “has renewed its collaboration with Samsonite for its Magnum Eco suitcase collection.” The new range of products “leverages QCP’s expertise in high-quality polymers [polypropylene and polyethylene] recycling and focuses on giving post-consumer plastics a second life while reducing the use of virgin materials,” states Suez in a news release.

The Magnum product line is “building on the success of the S’Cure ECO collection launched in 2019,” says the firms. As it did while building its S’Cure supply chain, Samsonite turned to QCP “to benefit from its expertise in plastics recycling and recovery to take part in the conception of this new collection,” according to Suez.

Designed in Europe, the suitcases are made from household plastic scrap from the Netherlands and Belgium, such as plastic bottles and yogurt pots. The large size suitcase incorporates recycled plastic scrap equivalent to 483 yogurt cups and 14 plastic bottles. Using QCP’s Recyclex technology, the exterior shells are made entirely from recycled plastics and the interior fabric is also developed from 100 percent recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.

“We are continuously looking for new ways to reduce our environmental footprint across our operations,” says Christine Riley Miller, Samsonite’s global director of sustainability. “This includes innovating how our products are made so we play our part in repurposing plastic [scrap].”

“LyondellBasell is taking definitive action to advance its circular economy ambitions, and the Samsonite Magnum Eco luggage is a perfect demonstration of bringing this valuable plastic resource back to life,” says Richard Roudeix, LyondellBasell senior vice president of olefins and polyolefins for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India. “This recycled material, polymers from our CirculenRecover product range, is providing travelers with a durable, lasting product.”

“We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Samsonite. R&D, a key driver of growth and differentiation for the Suez Group, combined with our expertise in recycling high-quality polymers, played an important role in the development of this new suitcase range,” comments Jean-Marc Boursier, senior executive vice president of Suez in charge of the France Region, and a group chief operating officer. “We are proud to offer concrete circular solutions and technologies to our customers. We are particularly vigilant in ensuring the traceability, compliance and sustainability of the plastics that we recycle, with LyondellBasell, within the QCP joint venture.”

The new collaboration follows QCP’s acquisition in December 2020 of Tivaco, a plastic recycling company located in Belgium. With a capacity of processing approximately 22,000 metric tons of recycled plastics per year, that acquisition brought QCP’s total plastic recycling capacity to approximately 55,000 metric tons per year.

The new collection of suitcases is available at Samsonite stores and department stores that carry the Samsonite line.