Ikea has announced that spare parts for its furniture will be sold soon, with the furniture giants looking to create a “circular” business that reuses/recycles materials and products. According to the company, the Ikea Forest Positive Agenda includes responsible forest management, driving innovation to use wood in “smarter ways”, and ensuring that at least one third of Ikea’s wood furniture is made from recycled materials by 2030.
As the Financial Times reports, this sustainability push also includes the sale of spare parts for the Swedish company’s own products. Items like replacement sofa legs and arm rests sound like they’d come in handy for many customers, but replacement nuts and bolts are already available for free at customer service. Regardless, Ikea says that the idea behind the move is to extend the lifespan of furniture and other products sold, and to oppose the notion that the company makes goods that are disposable.
Will this affect sales?
The furniture-makers’ Chief Sustainability Officer, Lena Pripp-Kovac, says that the company expects this to have a “limited” effect on sales for new furniture. However, the idea is that selling spare parts will make Ikea’s range of products “more accessible” to the public—presumably offering more value for the same price, since you can simply replace parts (at a price).
However, the plans are still at an “early stage”, the BBC reports. There hasn’t been a specific timeline given, but as mentioned above, Ikea intends to become a “fully circular and climate positive” business” by 2030. Of course, this aim involves a whole range of initiatives that go beyond simply selling spare parts, but perhaps we’ll see nuts, bolts, armrests, and other parts going on sale in Ikea sooner rather than later.
The company also has a buy-back programme, with the intention of reducing landfills and encouraging re-use of products. It’s available in 27 countries, and customers are “paid” with cash vouchers that they can use in Ikea’s store to replace their furniture. According to Ikea:
“At IKEA, we want to make responsible forest management the norm, to stop deforestation, enhance biodiversity and support people who depend on forests for their livelihood. Responsibly managed forests also play a vital role in climate change mitigation. By enforcing strict requirements, and partnering with different organisations across the world, we have contributed to moving the forestry sector forward.”
To read more about Ikea’s Forest Positive Agenda for 2030, click here.
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