Outdoor is the main media Heineken uses for its advertisements. So we decided to create a re-usable grocery bag out of non-recyclable discarded material from Heineken billboards. Each bag is unique in its design. The sewing pattern was placed randomly over the billboard’s graphics, creating inimitable design patterns. The material from old Heineken billboards was recollected, cleaned and taken to a local micro-enterprise of seamstresses. Finally, they were sold at supermarkets, boutiques, and at the brand’s website. They were also featured and reviewed on the Puerto Rico Fashion Week.

The Heineken Green Bags became an instant environmental fashion statement. The first batch of bags (3,000) was sold in only a few days. The media covered the story, producing free publicity for the brand. Most importantly, every time a consumer visits the supermarket or goes shopping with our bag, we had a walking billboard for the brand. It is an on-going project. As long as there are Heineken outdoor advertisements being created, we’ll have material to make more bags. And to top it off, the program is self-sustainable. People pay $20 per bag.