Published 04 June 2019 • Inter IKEA newsroom
IKEA to use ocean plastic in new products
In the beginning of 2020 MUSSELBLOMMA will hit IKEA stores in Italy and Spain. The collection is made of recycled plastic, partly collected by Spanish fishermen in the Mediterranean Sea.
The products – a bag, two cushion covers and a tablecloth – are designed by the Spanish designer Inma Bermúdez, with inspiration from the ocean.
“I am very happy and proud to be part of this project. We want to help people to be conscious about the problem of the big amount of plastic waste in our oceans. It is a must that we all take responsibility, every day” says Inma Bermúdez.
“We have created a simple and modern pattern with circles, squares and triangles combined with a shape that reminds of a fish. The colours in the collection are taken from the sea: different greens and turquoise combined with coral that brings light and happiness to the pattern”.
The polyester fabric used in MUSSELBLOMMA is made from recycled plastic, including PET plastic waste caught in nets in the Mediterranean Sea and collected by Spanish fishermen. For every kilo of PET plastic waste that can be used to make the polyester fabric another 9 kilo of waste like other plastics, metal, rubber, glass and other materials is also taken out of the ocean.
After the collection the plastic is aggregated in containers onshore in ports, and is then cleaned, sorted, mechanically recycled and together with recycled PET bottles made into yarn and fabric. The whole supply chain for the products is located in Spain.
“IKEA wants to have a positive impact on the oceans, engage in projects to clean plastic pollutants from oceans and proactively prevent ocean plastic pollution. MUSSELBLOMMA is step for IKEA to use ocean plastic in products and turning that into a raw material for the future. We are currently exploring different projects around the world to scale up this work, in collaboration with NGOs, partners and suppliers”, says Caroline Reid, Sustainability Development Manager at IKEA Range & Supply.
Ocean plastic pollution is a huge environmental problem and IKEA is determined to contribute to its solution in a positive and proactive way.
There will be a staggered launch of MUSSELBLOMMA during the coming year.
In October 2018 IKEA became a member of NextWave, an initiative that engages private companies, scientists and NGOs to integrate ocean-bound plastic into consumer products in a scalable way.
Earlier the same year, IKEA announced the commitment of removing all single-use plastic products by 2020 – as a step towards becoming a circular business by 2030.