Making great design available to everyone

Study by IKEA and H&M Group sheds new light on the opportunities for recycled textiles

Finding clean and reliable sources of recycled materials is a pre-requisite for IKEA to reach its circular goals. However, closing the recycling loop for materials such as textiles, presents several industry challenges, such as lack of knowledge about the chemical content within recyclable textile. Therefore, IKEA and H&M Group have conducted a large-scale study to better understand how current recyclable textiles measure against existing chemical standards. One of the key steps for IKEA in transforming into a circular business by 2030, is to only use recycled or renewable materials. Closing the recycling loop for materials such as textiles, presents a series of challenges, including lack of recycling technologies, limited availability of collected recyclable textile, and traceability, to name a few. Furthermore, there are few large scale studies conducted on the chemical contents in collected recyclable textile.IKEA and H&M Group have the ambition to tackle these challenges, and as a result have collaborated on a large-scale study looking at chemical content in collected recyclable textile, with a focus on cotton as the first step. The aim is to share this knowledge and create awareness among industry members as well as policy makers and legislators, enabling fact based decisions in the adoption of the circular business model more broadly.“Transforming into a circular economy and making use of recycled materials, requires the industry to have an aligned approach to material development, including which types of substances and levels, are safe. With this study, we want to understand how collected recyclable cotton textile measures against the strict safety standards we have at IKEA,” says Nils Månsson, Materials and Innovation Deployment Manger at IKEA Range and Supply.Collected recyclable textiles often consist of mixed materials, where the chemical contents are unknown. That is why large-scale studies are needed, where several chemical substances are tested. This study consists of over 8,000 tests made on recyclable cotton textiles, which were randomly collected from different organisations and recyclers in Europe.“We now know which specific chemicals within the tested groups are likely to be found. It enables us to better understand which tests need to be conducted in order to make use of recyclable cotton textile, while meeting our strict safety standards. To our knowledge this is the first study of this sort and scale, and we look forward to inviting others to join this approach and collectively increase our understanding,” says Mirjam Luc, Project leader for Circular Materials at IKEA Range and Supply.Even though this study sheds new light on the topic, there is still a need for even more knowledge. Therefore IKEA and H&M Group have decided to continue with the study and as a next step conduct tests on collected recyclable polyester and wool rich textiles. About IKEA IKEA is one brand and many companies. Around the globe, a large number of companies operate under the IKEA trademarks. IKEA Range & Supply, consisting of IKEA of Sweden in Älmhult and IKEA Supply AG in Pratteln, Switzerland, have the responsibility to develop, design, produce and supply IKEA stores and sales channels around the world with home furnishing solutions available to the many people. Each year IKEA Range & Supply introduces 2,000 new products. The total range is almost 10,000 products. About H&M GroupH & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) was founded in Sweden in 1947 and is quoted on Nasdaq Stockholm. H&M’s business idea is to offer fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way. In addition to H&M, the group includes the brands COS, Monki, Weekday, & Other Stories, H&M HOME and ARKET as well as Afound. The H&M group has 50 online markets and more than 4,900 stores in 73 markets including franchise markets. In 2018, net sales were SEK 210 billion. The number of employees amounts to approximately 177,000. For further information, visit hmgroup.com

17 Oct 2019

IKEA continues to grow while developing for the future

Today, Inter IKEA Group shares IKEA facts and figures for financial year 2019 (FY19). The IKEA financial year runs from 1 September to 31 August.Around the world, 211,000 IKEA co-workers have contributed to create a better everyday life for the many people. Together they’ve introduced more than 2,000 new products, tested new store formatsand helped IKEA customers get the products and solutions they need. As a result, IKEA retail sales grew by 6.5% in FY19. Total retail sales, which includes sales of both products and services to IKEA customers, amounted to EUR 41.3 billion.In-store and online, customers bought 5 million smart bulbs and accessories, 7 million BILLY bookcases and more than 10 million veggie hot dogs! They also re-discovered some old favourites in a collection called GRATULERA – released to celebrate 75 years of the IKEA Brand. And in August IKEA stores unveiled SYMFONISK, a new collection developed together with SONOS. On the first day alone more than 30,000 SYMFONISK lamps and speakers had been sold. “We are pleased to make smart home products more affordable for customers, and we will invest heavily in the years ahead to develop this part of the IKEA range,” says Torbjörn Lööf, CEO at Inter IKEA Group.This year 12 new IKEA stores opened around the world, including two smaller stores. Together 433 stores in more than 50 markets welcomed more than 1 billion visitors. IKEA franchisees also opened several small test locations. Nine markets introduced e-commerce, and customers in most IKEA markets can now shop online. Around 2.8 billion people visited the IKEA website, and e-commerce sales grew 43%.Among the new locations was IKEA La Madeleine. Located in the centre of Paris, nearly two million people can reach it by public transport within 20 minutes. “We’re moving closer to our customers to make shopping more convenient,” says Torbjörn.IKEA franchisees will continue to move closer to people all over the world. During the coming years new IKEA stores and e-commerce will open in Macau, Puerto Rico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Estonia, Ukraine, New Zealand, Slovenia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Behind the scenes, IKEA product developers and supply specialists worked to make healthy and sustainable products more affordable and accessible for IKEA customers. Today 60% of the IKEArange is based on renewable materials, and 10% contains recycled materials. “We’re on an exciting journey to make IKEA more sustainable for our customers,” says Torbjörn.“This requires transformational change for our supply chain, how our products are designed and how and where we sell them. We have accomplished a lot this year, and yet we’re still in the beginning to reduce our climate footprint and become a circular business.”You can read more about IKEA Facts & Figures for financial year 2019 here.For more information contact: Media.Franchisor@Inter-IKEA.com +31-62-124-0618

25 Sep 2019

IKEA sparks home furnishing ideas and inspiration through Artificial Intelligence

Today is the launch of the next generation of the IKEA Place app, which uses Artificial Intelligence to offer users curated and personalised home furnishing advice.IKEA Place launched in 2017, allowing people to virtually place true-to-scale models of IKEA furniture in their own homes. Today the app adds new features that combine Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality. Now people can do more than just place furniture; they can get smart home furnishing tips and recommendations based on curation, context and behaviour.To make the app more inspiring and easy-to-use, IKEA Place now comes with interior design ideas to inspire, solve furnishing challenges and just make people smile. The app lets you define areas you want to furnish and provides unique and relevant suggestions based on your preferences and IKEA home furnishing knowledge. With the new features, you can furnish a whole space with just a few taps. You can also point your camera at any piece of furniture, anywhere, and find the most similar IKEA product instantly.The ultimate goal is to inspire people through combining technology with knowledge of how people live their lives. “Sometimes we all need that little bit of inspiration that sparks new ideas. That’s exactly what we want to achieve with IKEA Place.” says Gerry Rogers, Digital Transformation Leader at Inter IKEA Group.With many more features in the pipeline, IKEA Place will continue to bring new ways of experiencing IKEA to new and existing customers. But technology only tells half the story. “In the bigger perspective, IKEA Place is not about AR or AI. It’s about making IKEA home furnishing expertise more accessible. To do so, we are looking into the newest technologies, not for the sake of technology, but to create a better everyday life for the many people” says Gerry.The updated IKEA Place app is now available on supported iOS Devices (iPhone and iPad). An updated Android version is planned for the near future.For more information contact: Media.Franchisor@Inter-IKEA.com +31-62-124-0618

24 Sep 2019

Insights from new 25-country study: Sustainable living perceived as too expensive

A majority of people across the world would like to live a more healthy and sustainable life. The biggest barrier is that it’s perceived to be too expensive. These are some of the key findings in a survey from GlobeScan in partnership with IKEA on Healthy & Sustainable Living released today. IKEA wants to make a positive difference and enable sustainable choices for more people.“Our ambition is to make sustainable living affordable, attractive and accessible for the many people with thin wallets,” says Lena Pripp-Kovac, Head of Sustainability at Inter IKEA Group. “We want to use the insights from this and other studies to enable the better everyday living that people are looking for.” The 25-country study finds increased anxiety among citizens around the world and that environmental issues are a growing concern. It concludes that living healthy and sustainably is viewed by 54% of people across the world as a major or large personal priority, while almost none (2%) says that it’s not a priority. However, only 6% say they completely live this way now. According to the survey, the biggest barrier to living a healthy and sustainable life is that it’s perceived to be too expensive. Many also feel that governments and businesses are not supporting it enough.“Sustainability is embedded in our vision of creating a better everyday life for the many people. Through our size and focus on affordability, we have a big possibility to make a positive difference. IKEA has committed to inspire and enable more than 1 billion people to live better lives within the limits of the planet by 2030. To better understand the barriers and enablers, we continuously lead and participates in consumer studies. We want to enable the many people to live more sustainable lives and at the same time contribute to societal change through innovations and new collaborations,” says Lena Pripp-Kovac.GlobeScan’s public report can be found here, and additional insights from the 25-country study will be made public during the fall. “Just like our colleagues at IKEA, we at GlobeScan believe that there is a global need and a responsibility for businesses to help all people live more healthy and sustainable lives. Our research finds that this leads to happier lives and a better future for us all. We are grateful for IKEA’s partnership in creating this possibility,” says Eric Whan, Director at GlobeScan.Examples of IKEA solutions to inspire and enable sustainable living:Responsibly sourced products based on renewable and recycled materials* with lower climate impact, for example recycled polyester and FÖRÄNDRING a collection made of rice strawDesigning products from the very beginning to be repaired, repurposed, reused and recycledMISTELN mist nozzle, reducing water use by more than 90%, launching 2020IKEA Home Solar, generating energy at home, available in 30 IKEA markets by 2025**Plant-based food, such as a veggie dog and a plant-based soft iceTesting new circular services that support people to:Acquire products (rent, share, buy second hand)Care for products (repair, upgrade, adapt)Pass on products (return, sell, donate and recycle), furniture leasing will be tested in some markets during 202* By 2030, aiming for all IKEA products and packing materials to be based on renewable or recycled materials.**Through the retail business of Ingka Group – the largest retailer in the IKEA franchise system

24 Sep 2019