IKEA plans to sell spare furniture parts in sustainability commitment push

IKEA to sell spare parts in sustainability pushSJOERD VAN DER WAL - Getty Images

IKEA has announced tentative plans to sell spare furniture parts in a push to become a more sustainable and climate positive business by 2030.

The Swedish retailer, which recently launched a TV advert encouraging households to live frugally, will explore selling items such as sofa legs, arm rests, and sofa covers to prolong the life of its products.

While many people regularly replace broken items, the flat-pack pioneer hopes this new move will make it easier for customers to refurbish, upcycle and reuse items otherwise thrown away. The parts will be sold in addition to the replacement nuts and bolts, which IKEA currently offers for free.

'To prolong the life of products, a key aspect is to have spare parts. So that you can upgrade things such as buy new covers or legs for a sofa... We are testing a lot,' Lena Pripp-Kovac, chief sustainability officer at Inter IKEA, told the Financial Times.

Jon Abrahamsson Ring, chief executive of Inter IKEA, explained that to make sustainability work, it needs to be affordable for all. He said: 'That's how we help the many people. Sustainability can't only be for the rich or for the thick wallet.'

This is just another example of what IKEA is doing to ramp up its sustainability commitment across the business. Last year, the retailer announced the launch of its clever Buy Back initiative, which will see them buy back unwanted IKEA furniture from customers and resell it as second-hand in store. As well as this, IKEA also opened a standalone second-hand store in Sweden — the first of its kind for the Swedish company.

IKEA’s second-hand store in SwedenIKEA/HENRIK MILL

But that's not all: IKEA is also avoiding waste and using resources efficiently by launching energy-efficient induction hobs, air-purifiers, energy-saving cellular blinds, and phasing out single-use plastic from its home furnishing range and its restaurants, cafes and bistros.

'We've been really ramping up and accelerating our commitment across the business,' Hege Sæbjørnsen, Country Sustainability Manager at IKEA UK & Ireland, told House Beautiful UK in November 2020. 'This is really the perfect time to make sure we play a critical role in making sustainable and healthy living more mainstream and affordable for everyone.'

While it is still in the early stages of planning, it's a great step in the right direction.

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