Atlanta’s FIFA World Cup Banners Get a Second Life as Upcycled Bags

By Muriel Vega

Published September 8, 2026

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At a Glance

• Atlanta’s nonprofit is upcycling 2026 FIFA World Cup Atlanta banners into bags, mug rugs, keychains and other accessories.
• The products are handmade by re:loom artisans, who receive paid job training, living wages and health care coverage funded by the sale of the items.
• The project keeps tournament materials out of Atlanta-area landfills.
• Shop the collection on their website.

It’s been over a month since the 2026 FIFA World Cup left Atlanta, leaving a hangover of lingering emotions behind. Sure, the soccer tourists have left downtown Atlanta and Mercedes-Benz Stadium has enjoyed a much-needed reset, but have you thought about where all those banners, signage and FIFA-branded textiles go after they’re taken down?

Instead of heading to a Georgia landfill, those exact banners, heavy-duty vinyl signage and tournament textiles are headed straight to re:loom to become bags and other upcycled items that you can now buy. re:loom is a social enterprise and job-training program operated by the Initiative for Affordable Housing (IAH), a non-profit dedicated to ending family homelessness in metro Atlanta.

By employing adults who face systemic barriers to work, re:loom offers paid, on-site training in which artisans weave handmade, upcycled goods while earning a living wage and receiving 100% healthcare coverage. Through hands-on product creation and sustainable income, employees build financial independence, workplace skills and long-term stability.

Through its partnership with Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, re:loom is intercepting all World Cup materials from around downtown Atlanta and transforming them into a collection of upcycled memorabilia—from bags to mug rugs and keychains—sold directly on their website.

“Because Mercedes-Benz is a zero-waste organization, we’ve built a great relationship with them, who are always pushing post-event materials our way. A few years ago, we also partnered with the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau to process post-event materials from the conferences they host at the Georgia World Congress Center,” said Jocelyn Paez, re:loom’s Community Engagement Manager. 

“Because of those existing relationships, re:loom was a natural fit when FIFA came to town. We’re taking our existing product lines and transferring them into bags designed by Tammy and the team—turning the banners, vinyl, scrim and other textiles from the Atlanta World Cup games into fashionable accessories.”

Teaming up with three weavers, Tammy Carden, re:loom’s operations manager, designed the upcoming line. 

“I’m super excited about the new products that Tammy designed. We have a scrim Beltline bag, which has traditionally been one of our top sellers. It’s a petite crossbody bag, and this year, Tammy and the weavers redesigned it to be made out of scrim with a zipper closure. She also designed a mini messenger bag with a cute flap closure. It’s also a crossbody—a little more spacious than the Beltline bag—and made out of scrim so you can see all the imagery and text from the banners we use to make it,” said Paez.

Carden highlighted how the organization evolved from making basic rag rugs into partnering with major clients like Delta Air Lines to build a sustainable social business. Beyond teaching weaving skills, re:loom’s paid job training program equips employees with essential life and professional skills—such as navigating health insurance, managing paid time off, and scheduling medical care—preparing them for long-term independence in any career path.

“re:loom was the brainchild of [former executive director] Lisa Wise, driven by the question of how to help our transitional housing clients become employable so they can achieve an independent future. That’s really how re:loom came into existence,” said Interim Executive Director Len Al Haas. Since its founding, re:loom has helped more than 30 Atlanta-area residents provide for their families and enter or re-enter the workforce with new skills and confidence.

Despite the disruptions of COVID-19, re:loom successfully executed major upcycling projects with these corporate partners. For UPS, the organization transformed retired worker uniforms into over 1,400 dual-branded dog leashes, which UPS purchased and gifted to local animal shelter adopters. Similarly, re:loom repurposed Delta’s high-visibility orange safety vests into reflective running gear and dog leashes, and later crafted custom purses from Delta’s wear-test uniforms—complete with commemorative medallions. While many of these upcycled items are sold internally within partner companies, other select wares are available to the public on the re:loom website.

These partnerships directly support IAH’s mission to transform lives and housing security across Atlanta while diverting tons of discarded textiles from landfills and incinerators through corporate partnerships with UPS, Delta Air Lines, Intuit Mailchimp, Spanx, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and others.

Pick up unique 2026 FIFA World Cup memorabilia you can’t find anywhere else. You can now buy woven mug rugs, various bags and keychains made from upcycled FIFA World Cup banners on their website, all produced on the organization’s floor looms. Every purchase directly diverts waste from landfills while funding living-wage jobs and healthcare for Atlanta residents overcoming homelessness. It’s a win-win.

Muriel Vega is an Atlanta-based journalist who writes mostly about technology and its intersection with food, arts, and culture. Her work has appeared in Delta Sky Magazine, The Washington Post, Eater, DWELL, Outside Magazine, Atlanta Magazine, and more.