Ikea will buy back your old furniture on Black Friday

Swedish fast-furniture chain says it’s a sustainability effort

IKEA Chief Sustainability Officer Pia Heidenmark Cook (IKEA, iStock)
IKEA Chief Sustainability Officer Pia Heidenmark Cook (IKEA, iStock)

Got an old Billy bookcase or Poang chair to get rid of? Good news: Ikea will take them back, no questions asked.

The Swedish giant will begin a buy back program on November 24 to coincide with what is traditionally Black Friday in the U.S. retail market, Reuters reported.

Customers who sell furniture back to the company will get a voucher to use in the future, with the value based on the condition of the item being returned.

Furniture will have to be returned fully assembled and will be resold at discount prices; if an item can’t be resold, it will be donated.

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IKEA is marketing the move as part of its wider effort to become “a fully circular and climate-positive business by 2030,” according to Reuters. The company has previously been criticized for environmentally unfriendly supply chains.

The growth in popularity of cheap flat-pack furniture over the last decade and a half has also coincided with an increase in furniture waste, or “f-waste,” in landfills, according to Curbed.

The timing of the program’s launch isn’t a coincidence; in a press release, the company said it “hopes that the initiative will help its customers take a stand against excessive consumption this Black Friday and in the years to come.” [Reuters] — Dennis Lynch