GM donates vehicle material scraps to build insulated coats for homeless

GM Homeless Coat

GM is donating the leftover sound absorbing material from the production of the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Verano to the homeless to create their own self-heated, waterproof coats that can transform into sleeping bags. The idea is the vision of Veronika Scott, a Detroit humanitarian whose Empowerment Plan is working with GM for the source material.

“Among other challenges – from design to project funding – the insulation is the largest expense in the coats’ production,” said Scott. “With GM’s help and recommendations, I was able to think about materials in a different way and incorporate a sustainable, durable and practical product from GDC, Inc. that benefits struggling community members.”

Known as Sonozorb, the insulating material is designed in different shapes to fit within door cavities and vehicle compartments for sound absorption. Using leftover scrap, supplier GDC makes the coat insulation material for reuse.

GM has donated 2,000 yards of material, enough to make 400 coats.

Separately GM said that it also donated the material to be used to cleanup the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. GM then recovered oil-soaked booms, converting them into a production year’s worth of Chevrolet Volts. The move prevented 212,500 pounds of waste from entering U.S. landfills.

– By: Omar Rana