When we launched WAVA Project, we focused on creating a sustainable product backed by a community of like-minded people passionate about reducing waste and protecting the planet. While building our B2C brand, we identified a significant gap in the market: many businesses were struggling with PVC waste management and lacked effective solutions to prevent it from ending up in landfills. And no one was talking about it.
This inspired us to take action, leading to our partnership with the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion (E+C Pavilion) on our first B2B collaboration. Our goal was to give the E+C Pavilion banner from COP28 a second life by upcycling the PVC material into functional tote and sling bags. Check out how we did it:
We sat down with Gunjan Nanda, Director of Entertainment + Culture Paviion and Co-Founder of Dubai Climate Collective to understand more about the impact of our collaboration.
E+C Pavilion is a transformative space that prioritizes cultural storytelling and decarbonization practices, aiming to amplify the voices of indigenous leaders. At COP28, they created a streamlined platform for engaging discussions around culture and climate action, marking their first in-person engagement. The team hosted over 100 events with 300 speakers, emphasizing the vital role of culture in the renewable resource dialogue.
“So at the end of COP 28, we all triumphantly ripped down the Entertainment + Culture Pavillion banner, while other pavilions stared at us in confusion. We were so proud to have pulled off the event.”
Julie Mallat, co-founder of Dubai Climate Collective alongside Gunjan, is also a fellow climate activist and the Founder of The Climate Propagandist. She was one of our first customers when we launched WAVA project last year.
Gunjan’s lightbulb moment came when she saw Julie’s tote and remembered all the COP 28 pavilion banners crammed in a corner in her apartment. She recalls frantically ironing the material before sending it, scared we’d reject it. But the banner beautifully transformed into 30 exclusive E+C Pavilion products, which have already traveled to Bangkok and New York Climate Week. Up next is COP29 in Azerbaijan and beyond.
“They’re great for our team, a reminder of what we achieved at COP28. But beyond that, we’re excited to give them to our major stakeholders. It allows us to give a lasting piece of E+C and form more meaningful connections.”
COP28 welcomed over 100 pavilions representing various countries, organizations, and initiatives. No one else took their banners.
“If our small banner was able to create 30 tote bags and slings, imagine the impact if everyone else had repurposed their banners.”
By repurposing PVC fabric that would have otherwise gone to waste, the WAVA x E+C collab contributed directly to reducing landfill waste and lowering carbon footprints.
Our biggest takeaway has been how local partnerships are essential to sustainability in the region. Gunjan agrees, “You can’t have real change without this local involvement and community initiatives in place. You really have to stir up the narrative on the ground, and give people the means to connect with others in the community.”
There shouldn’t be competitors in this space; we’re all working towards the same goal. “It’s super important for all the local initiatives to meet and become part of this bigger community.”
We know companies often have no choice but to work with PVC banners and billboards. However, they can control what happens to those materials once they've served their initial purpose.
Looking ahead, WAVA is focused on building more partnerships that promote sustainability and inspire others to rethink waste. Even small-batch collaborations can make a difference - we believe sustainability thrives when it grows organically.
Got PVC waste? Looking to give your stakeholders and team meaningful, functional merch? Let’s transform it together!