Furniture retailer IKEA is giving returned products a new life with a dedicated second-hand store in Sweden.
The first store of its kind, in Eskilstuna, will sell repaired furniture at a lower price when it opens later this year.
The new store is a pilot, with the ideas potentially expanded elsewhere. It is located close to the recycling mall ReTuna.
IKEA aims for all its products to be made from renewable or recycled materials, and designed to be reused, resold or recycled by 2030.
Jonas Carlehed, head of sustainability at IKEA Sweden, said: “At IKEA, we want to be part of leading the transition to a more sustainable and fair Sweden. If we are to achieve our sustainability goals, we need to challenge ourselves and test our ideas in practice. Climate change cannot be solved in theory, it must be solved through good examples in everyday life.
“Our planet is our common home. Therefore, we can only create a more sustainable world if we do it together with others. Now we hook up with local actors who share our view of sustainability to get lessons that can make a difference globally.”
Building reusability into business models is becoming increasingly important to retailers, with Zalando and Carrefour examples of retailers that have embraced such models. The EU has introduced rules regulating the amount that retailers are allowed to dispose of.
IKEA is also renting rather than selling furniture.