World’s First Second-Hand IKEA Store To Open In Sweden

During autumn, the world’s first second-hand IKEA store will see the light of day. It will open in a shopping centre dedicated only to retailers selling reused, organic or sustainably produced products. 

From the store, located in the greater Stockholm region, visitors will be able to bring home IKEA products that have been repaired and restored to its former glory, at a fraction of the price.

“At IKEA we don’t want to merely be a part of the sustainability movement – we want to lead it. If we want to reach our sustainability goals, we have to challenge ourselves and test our ideas. The climate crisis cannot be solved in theory, it has to be solved in practice,” says Jonas Carlehed, Sustainability Manager IKEA Retail Sweden.

This takes IKEA one step closer to its goal of inspiring more people to live a more sustainable life within the boundaries of the planet while at the same time paving the way for a shift towards a circular business model. Within 10 years, IKEA has decided that all products will be designed based on circular principles and made by renewable and recycled materials, at the same time as it will be easier for customers to prolong the life of their furniture and products.

A shopping centre for reused products

The shopping centre, ReTuna, has gained international acclaim since opening five years ago. In many ways it’s much like any other shopping centre, but its location is a bit out of the ordinary. Situated next to the local recycling station, its retailers only sell products that have been reused, are organic or sustainably produced.

“Our planet is our common home. We can only create a more sustainable world if we do it together with others. Now we’re joining forces with local actors, who share our view on sustainability, to gain knowledge and insight that can make a difference globally”, says Jonas Carlehed. 

In ten years, all IKEA products will be produced using only renewable or recycled materials, designed to be reused, resold or recycled. 

To prolong the life of our furniture we work to reduce the number of products that are thrown away, by repairing and repackaging damaged items. Last year we gave 47 million products a new life through our AS IS departments all over the world. 

By opening this shop, IKEA is now taking the next step. Working with ReTuna gives us the possibility to better understand why certain IKEA products turn into waste, what condition they are in when discarded, how people reason when deciding to throw away our products, and if there’s an interest in buying the products if we manage to save them.  

Source : IKEA

Image : Jonas Carlehed, Sustainability Manager IKEA Sweden and Sofia Bystedt, Centre Leader at ReTuna Återbruksgalleria

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