Published 24 May 2022 • Inter IKEA newsroom
BILLY relaunched with new colours and sustainability improvements
In July 2022, IKEA will launch the new and more circular BILLY bookcase dressed in beautiful wood expressions. By shifting from veneer to paper foil, reducing plastic use, and making it possible to disassemble and reassemble, IKEA aims for BILLY to continue to be an important part of people’s homes for many more years to come.
BILLY has been one of IKEA’s best-selling and most popular products for over 40 years. It was launched in 1979 and has ever since helped create a better everyday life for the many people. Now, BILLY is becoming even more timeless, with improvements in circularity. Material and design changes made with circularity in mind will improve the appeal, quality, and durability to ensure that BILLY stays relevant for many more years to come.
“BILLY is one of our most beloved products, and it represents an important part of IKEA’s history. The new wood expressions will be a great facelift, and the shift to paper foil enables more efficient material use and reduces production waste. It is a giant leap into the future for BILLY. We hope it continues to be as popular and spread joy in people’s lives for many more years to come”, says Jesper Samuelsson, Business Leader at Inter IKEA Group.
The veneer used today will be replaced with a high-quality paper foil, enabling new eye-catching wood expressions while making it more durable without compromising the scratch resistance. New colours and finishes, such as black oak, dark brown oak, brown walnut, oak, and birch. These expressions will better align with IKEA’s entire range and replace today’s available colours, except for the white finish, which will remain available with the same improvements. In addition, the complementary OXBERG door series will be relaunched with the same updates.
New wrapped edges will be introduced to reduce the number of plastic edge bands without compromising the stability, and paper edge bands will replace the remaining plastic ones over time. This means the majority of materials used to produce BILLY will come from renewable sources in the future, another important step towards IKEA’s goal of only using renewable or recycled materials by 2030. In addition, the nails used to attach the back panel will be replaced with snap fittings. This change will make assembly easier and disassembly and reassembly possible and create more possibilities for repairs. These improvements will help increase BILLY’s lifetime by making it easier to bring BILLY with you as your life and needs change and pass it on when no longer needed.
“This is an important change to BILLY that goes hand in hand with the IKEA people and planet positive strategy to design our products circularly from the very beginning. Making it possible to disassemble and reassemble the bookcase, and improve its mobility, will make it easier to bring it with you as your life and needs change. By enabling products and materials to stay in use longer, we solve many customers’ needs and take steps toward reducing our impact on the planet”, says Jesper Samuelsson.
The launch of the new BILLY will start in the Asia Pacific in July 2022 and the rest of the world in January 2024. Availability and range offers may differ depending on the region. For more information, contact your local IKEA.