Over the past few years I’ve started to notice just how much waste is created from each flight. With that in mind I’ve stated to make a conscious effort to recycle amenity kits. I don’t mean that I put them in my nearest recycle bin, but rather I try to repurpose them.
The process begins by emptying the contents of the amenity kit and making use of the products inside. Typically airlines include lotions and creams inside which I try to use to the extent that I can. If I don’t use a particular product often I may offer it up to friends or family. I also make a point to save dental kits and keep them in my bathroom. By keeping a few dental kits lying around I always have a fresh toothbrush for guests who may have forgotten theirs. I also try my best to give out the earplugs, eye-masks, and flight socks, but those items usually end up in the trash.
Finally, I’m left with the amenity kit container itself. This container is usually a small cloth or leather pouch that zips closed. Over the years I’ve collected quite of few of these amenity kit containers and I’m never quite sure what to do with them.
Repurposed Amenity Kit Ideas
Amenity kits come in all shapes and colors which means finding the right new purpose for an amenity kit can be tricky. For example, I’ve found that the amenity kits offered in Finnair Business Class make great pencil holders.
I find that other amenity kits can be used to carry various charging cables or power adapters. For example, I think the leather British Airways Business Class amenity kit is perfect for storing various USB cables.
Finally, I find the Qatar Airways Business Class amenity kits provided by Brics are perfect for storing more fragile items such as liquids.
Ultimately thought there are some kits, such as the Lufthansa First Class pouch, that I don’t know what to do with.
Usually however I can find at least one way to reuse an old amenity kit.
The Most Practical Amenity Kit I’ve Ever Received
This all leads me to what I must say has become the most practical amenity kit I’ve ever received. Surprisingly, the amenity kit in question came from a recent American Airlines business class flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong.
American Airlines has long partnered with Cole Haan to provide amenity kits to business class customers. For years the kits offered in business class have come inside a rectangular leather pouch. Sadly, I can never really find a use for this pouch after my flight.
On a recent American Airlines business class flight however I noticed something different. The amenity kits on this flight came wrapped in essentially a vinyl bag.
The contents inside the bag were the same contents provided in other American Airlines business class amenity kits.
However, it was the vinyl bag that caught my eye. At first I couldn’t believe how cheap this bag seemed. After years of getting nice leather rectangles this bag seemed like a major downgrade.
That is, until I realized that it’s the most valuable amenity kit container I’ve ever received. This vinyl bag is a Cole Haan branded shoe bag! I don’t have a shoe bag and I’d never by one on my own, but ever since I’ve received this shoe bag I’ve used it on every trip I’ve taken since.
The American Airlines / Cole Haan Shoe Bag Amenity Kit
Whenever I travel I always end up with the same conundrum of how to pack my shoes. Typically I wedge one pair along the side of my suitcase and cover them in workout clothes. I then typically place a pair soles up on the top of my bag. I do these things to avoid the bottom of my shoes from touching my clean clothes.
While I try to take all of the necessary precautions to avoid getting my clothes dirty I usually end up with some debris inside my bag. Typically after a few trips I can hear the dirt from my shoes rustling around on the cloth lining of my suitcase. It’s something that’s bothered me for a years, but I’ve never looked into fixing it.
Thankfully, American and Cole Haan provided a solution for me. With my new shoe bag I always place a pair of shoes inside (in the right orientation of course) and pack them as I would otherwise. By putting my shoes in the shoe bag I avoid the shoes contaminating my clean clothes and I avoid debris or road salt collecting in my bag over time. After the trip I remove my shoes from the bag, clean out the inside, and save the bag for a future trip. All in all, I can honestly say this is the most useful amenity kit container I have ever received.
Final Thoughts
I’m really excited about what American and Cole Haan did here. They took a chance by switching away from the “premium” leather pouch, but I think it’s paid off. Shoe bags are one of those travel items that I think few people would actually purchase on their own. By switching their amenity kit container to a shoe bag American is offering there customers something they can use in the future which doubles as an amenity kit container.
Overall I wish airlines put a little more thought into their amenity kit containers. While leather or plastic pouches look nice they usually don’t serve much purpose after the flight. Instead, I’d like to see airlines providing more useful amenity kits that passengers could continue to use after the flight.
