K THE NEW YORK TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 Y B3
INTERNATIONALLONDON — Moving up in the
world or at least moving homes,
customers have for generations
faced an awkward question: What
do you do with old Ikea furniture,
so carefully assembled but so
ready to be replaced?
Ikea, the Swedish retailer with a
reputation for bargain furniture, if
not durable furniture, offered a so-
lution this week. It announced
that next month it will begin a
buyback program of unwanted
Ikea furniture to encourage
customers to take a stand against
excessive consumption.
The program, called Buy Back,
will begin in Britain on Nov. 24,
just ahead of Black Friday, an Ikea
spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The program will also run in 26
other countries, including Aus-
tralia, Canada, France, Germany,
Italy, Japan and Russia. The initia-
tive has no end date in Britain or
Ireland.
Although Ikea has various buy-
back programs running at stores
in many countries, the company
said November’s event would be
the first time 27 countries have
scaled this service together.
“By making sustainable living
more simple and accessible, Ikea
hopes that the initiative will help
its customers take a stand against
excessive consumption this Black
Friday and in the years to come,”
the company said in a news re-
lease.
Noticeably absent from the list
of participating countries was the
United States.
“It is a country decision, and
Ikea Retail U.S. will not partici-
pate in the buyback program,” the
spokeswoman said. “The U.S. is
currently exploring ways to bring
Buy Back to the country in the fu-
ture.”
She added, “This year, they will
use the traditional Black Friday to
focus on other sustainability ini-
tiatives and to promote sustain-
able living among their
customers.”
Customers selling back furni-
ture will receive an Ikea refund
card, with no expiration date, the
news release said.
The condition of the item soldback to Ikea will determine the
value. Ikea furniture in “new” con-
dition with no scratches could re-
ceive 50 percent of the original
price, the release said. Furniture
in “very good” condition with mi-
nor scratches may receive 40 per-
cent of the original price and
“well-used” items, with several
scratches, could receive 30 per-cent of the original price. The
items will be resold as second-
hand in the “As-Is” section of
stores.
Any item that can’t be resold
will be recycled or donated to local
community projects, the company
said.
While the program has ignited
interest among Ikea lovers, not allof the company’s furniture prod-
ucts will be eligible for it. Among
the items the program will accept
are dressers, bookcases and shelf
units, small tables, cabinets, din-
ing tables and desks, chairs and
stools without upholstery, and
chests of drawers.
The initiative stands in contrast
to an aggressive marketing cam-paign that Ikea used in the early
2000s, encouraging consumers to
replace items more frequently
and earning the company some
scorn for selling “disposable furni-
ture.” In one ad from 2002, somber
piano music plays as a woman
takes an old lamp out to the trash
in the pouring rain.
“Many of you feel bad for this
lamp,” a man suddenly says in a
Swedish accent. “That is becauseyou’re crazy. It has no feelings,
and the new one is much better.”
Almost 20 years later, the com-
pany has embraced sustainability,
which Peter Jelkeby, the country
retail manager for Ikea UK and
Ireland, called “the defining issue
of our time.”
The company, which was
founded by the Swedish entrepre-
neur Ingvar Kamprad in 1943 and
has expanded to locations in more
than 40 countries, also plans to be-
come “climate positive” by 2030,
saying it will drastically reduce its
greenhouse gas emissions and
store carbon in land, plants and
products.
Ikea’s leadership has directly
linked some of its stores’ chal-
lenges to climate change. In Janu-
ary at the World Economic Forum
in Davos, Switzerland, Jesper
Brodin, the chief executive of
Ikea, said his company was al-
ready feeling its impact after se-
vere flooding in the United States,
where stores were temporarily
closed, and in Australia, where
fires had disrupted business.Ikea Plans to Buy Back Some Old Furniture, but Not in the U.S.
By DERRICK BRYSON TAYLORAn Ikea store reopening in London in June after the coronavirus outbreak. Britain is one of 27 countries participating in the company’s Buy Back program.JOHN SIBLEY/REUTERSAn effort to ‘make
sustainable living
more simple and
accessible.’
on days off
on off-days
on rainy Sundays
as a sweet treat
for a savory supper
for a spicy night
to master the basics
to sharpen your skills
to mix up your menu
What to cook today.
Discover thousands of expert-tested
recipes, how-to guides for every skill
level, plus more.
nytcooking.com