Back in 2010 Electrolux launched a range of vacuum cleaners that were made in part from recycled plastic that had been rescued from the world's oceans. It was a huge publicity success that did the firm's green credentials no harm while also highlighting a growing environmental concern.
And now the company's at it again, this time in partnership with MBA Polymers, which is supplying recycled plastic obtained from scrapped cars.
Cecilia Nord, the director responsible for sourcing at Electrolux, said: "Our vision was to raise awareness of environmental issues, stimulate greater supply of plastics, and show the potential use, and to boost the distribution and sales of green home appliance products.”
That's not the most elegant statement I've ever seen but anything that promotes the use of recycled plastics has to be applauded.
An Electrolux Ultra Silencer Green [what a name!] vacuum is apparently made from 55% recycled polypropylene, saving over more than litres of crude oil and 80 litres of water per unit, as well as reducing manufacturing energy consumption by 90%.
As a sales pitch, that's a pretty impressive set of statistics. However, it was MBA Polymer what made it all possible, so said Nord: "Choosing the source for the material was one of the most difficult obstacles in the path of developing the Ultra Silencer Green because every type of recycled plastic had to be tested for quality and durability for the relevant component. Electrolux eventually teamed up with MBA Polymers."
What I really like about this story is that it all makes sense – a major brand takes parts of junked cars and recycles them into vacuum cleaners, all with the help of a specialist plastics company. No nonsense, no puff… just good green business. Here's hoping some more major brands follow the same path.
And if anyone from Electrolux is reading this, I really do need a new vacuum cleaner!