Wood

Wood is fundamental to the IKEA business – it’s a renewable, natural material durable enough to last for generations. But forests are fragile and sensitive to how we treat them. That’s why we put responsible wood sourcing at the heart of our business.

This means working together with others, such as the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) to improve responsible forest management around the world.

Wool

Wool is a durable, natural, strong material, perfect for blankets, carpets and other products for the home. What’s more, this sustainable material grows naturally on sheep, making it renewable as well as being biodegradable and recyclable.

IKEA wants to have a positive impact on people, animals and the planet, that’s why we’re on a journey to transform all the wool we use in our products to 100% Responsibly Sourced Wool.

To reach this goal by 2025, IKEA has begun securing parts of the wool value chain to comply with the ‘Responsible Wool Standard’ (RWS) guideline. It ensures that the sheep are treated with respect, and the land on which they are handled is managed responsibly.

Natural fibres

From water hyacinth to cork, banana fibers, and rattan, the use of natural fiber materials is increasing at IKEA. Not only are they natural and renewable, they also have great character, making each final product quite unique.

A majority of this production is non-industrial. We work closely with weavers and craftsmen and women in Vietnam, Indonesia, and China amongst others. Working with skilled artisans from around the world opens up doors for co-creation, inspiration and new production knowledge as well.

Scrap/recycled

We use recycled materials whenever possible. Wood, plastic, paper, and metal are just a few that we love to work with. We differentiate between scrap and recycled materials - scrap refers to the leftover material from another production, while recycled is when we’re able to reuse material from old products.

But, it’s more - it’s a way of thinking and developing products too. We aim to design in ways that allow you to recycle products at the end of their lifetime, thus minimising waste. That’s why we’re constantly looking for new ways to use scrap materials and recyclables and turn them into something useful and stylish for your home.

Composite

A composite material consists of two or more materials - each with different characteristics. At IKEA, we use composite material because it’s strong, low maintenance, low price, and light. An example is wood-plastic composite. Using wood fiber waste makes plastic products stronger and less expensive - and it helps put waste to good use.

That’s the beauty of composite: there’s less material usage and a great potential to utilize lower quality materials (otherwise classified as waste) and turn them into something new that is strong, compact, and light with a long life time. Find composites in everything from BILLY bookcases, ODGER chairs to RÖDTOPPA covers.

Plastic

We’re on a journey towards only using recycled and/or renewable plastics. Most plastics are oil-based, which means that they come from a non-renewable resource. So, whenever possible, we use as much recycled or renewable plastic in our products as we can. Today, about one third of our plastic items come from renewable and/or recycled sources.

PET, PE and PP are three of the most commonly used plastics in IKEA products, and all comply with the strictest law and safety standards. We have detailed requirements on the use of chemicals and other substances in the manufacturing process, taking into account your health aspects and environmental impacts.

Bamboo

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world - one of many reasons why we like working with it. It’s durable, hard, and stable. With the correct surface treatment, bamboo also becomes an optimal material for wet room products, as it is less likely to crack due to moisture exposure. An extremely sustainable material, bamboo filters CO2 out of the air and produces oxygen.

We mainly use the bottom and middle parts of the bamboo plant for IKEA products. Lamellae are used for panels in accessories and furniture. Handicraft techniques such as rolling and weaving – as seen in our KNIXHULT lamps – require slats. Great for long-lasting products, bamboo is both renewable and recyclable. You can enjoy the full wood expression of bamboo in products such as the NORDKISA series, APTITLIG cutting board and DRAGAN storage boxes.