Recycled materials at IKEA

Research shows that many people are likely to consider buying products made from recycled materialsgo to footnote^[1] – and IKEA is ready to meet this interest. Wood, metals, paper, textiles, glass, and plastics – these are just some of the materials used in IKEA products where recycled content plays an important role. Through design principles, traceability and collaboration, we’re continually innovating how we use recycled materials. By doing so, we can help ease pressure on natural resources, decrease our dependency on virgin raw materials and reduce waste.

Democratic Design with recycled materials

Every product at IKEA starts as an idea inspired by insights from people’s lives at home. When our designers and engineers get to work, they are guided by the IKEA Democratic Design approach and its five key principles: function, form, quality, sustainability and low price. Materials are a central aspect for each principle, and we want to take responsibility to proactively assess and address the environmental and social impact of the materials we choose. Part of that journey is increasing the share of recycled content. We consider how we can adapt product designs and production processes to replace virgin resources while maintaining functionality, performance, quality, safety and affordability of products.

Recycled cotton

Take ÄNGSLILJA duvet cover, made with a blend of recycled and virgin cotton. The recycled cotton comes from textile waste materials – trimmings after weaving. It’s a simple idea: take what would be waste and turn it into something beautiful and useful. The waste material is clean and of high quality – it hasn’t been worn, dyed or mixed with other materials, so it’s easier to turn back into new fibres.

“When we developed ÄNGSLILJA bed linen, we wanted it to feel fantastic to sleep in – soft and durable over time. To achieve that, we blend recycled cotton with virgin cotton. The recycled fibres help us reduce waste, while the virgin fibres add strength and durability. Together, they create the perfect balance between comfort and smart use of materials. And that balance is at the heart of how we develop every IKEA product.”

– Minna Karlsson Alm
Sustainability Leader

Quality and safety of recycled materials

For every product we create, regardless of whether it is made with virgin or recycled material, we consider chemical safety and compliance throughout the entire process. Our products and materials are risk assessed and tested - from production to how you use the product at home.

IKEA standards for sourcing

We want to ensure we can stand by our materials, know what they are made from and how they were produced. That’s why we put so much effort into traceability – we’re constantly improving our processes to get a clear overview of the life cycle of our recycled materials. IKEA requires all suppliers to comply with IWAY, the IKEA Code of Conduct, which focuses on improving environmental and social impacts, including working conditions and the fair treatment of people involved across the value chain. For some materials, we also use third-party certifications, such as the Global Recycling Standard (GRS), to verify the recycled content.

Learn more about IWAY – the IKEA supplier code of conduct

Working towards formalising employment in the waste sector

The collection and management of waste materials is a major challenge worldwide and in some countries, the sector faces significant issues regarding working conditions for informal workers. IKEA is committed to contributing to improving this situation, but we can’t do it alone. We therefore partner with other organisations to accelerate change, such as the Fair Circularity Initiative, which helps to improve the rights of formal and informal workers in waste and recycling value chains.

In some countries, such as India, many workers in the informal waste sector are denied the most basic rights, such as minimum wages, formal contracts or protective gear. IKEA has partnered with Saahas Zero Waste in India to explore ways to improve standards and formalise employment in this deregulated sector. The initiative aims to improve working conditions, ensure fair wages for waste collectors and provide training, equipment and business skills to micro-entrepreneurs.

Learn more about Saahas Zero Waste

Building scalability, availability and affordability of recycled materials

Across production industries, including ours, it’s currently challenging to obtain enough recycled materials to adequately increase proportions. To successfully integrate larger quantities of recycled material into our products, we rely on the entire industry to work together to make these materials more readily available. Currently, many innovations and technologies need to be scaled up. It’s crucial that we solve this challenge – and the opportunity excites us! Through collaboration with our suppliers, researchers and other industry innovators, we can help accelerate solutions at scale.

Innovating to increase recycled materials

One example of recycling technology innovation is our solution for fibreboard. This material has previously been considered non-recyclable, and we wanted to change that. Our patented process allows us to convert fibreboard into new products while retaining the quality of wood fibres and the result can be found in many of our doors/fronts.

“Our starting point was simple: we saw an opportunity in material that was already available, free and underused. If we could recycle it effectively, we could secure a stable material flow, strengthen the IKEA competitiveness, reduce the use of virgin wood and keep resources in a circular loop. I’m incredibly proud that the team made this a reality.”

– Nihat Dizdar
Material & Innovation Developer
IKEA of Sweden

Collaboration is key

IKEA collaborates with industrial partners, research institutes, and universities to improve the processing of recycled plastics. We focus on refining techniques for collecting, sorting and cleaning recycled plastic raw materials to better separate plastic types, manage colour and odour and minimise contamination, thereby improving the purity and quality.

Advocating for implementation of recycled materials

The IKEA business is advocating for legislative and regulatory movements and engaging with industry stakeholders to drive the implementation of recycled materials.

Adding our voice

As an active voice in advocating for industry development and improvement of the regulatory frameworks to support recycled materials and circularity, IKEA participates in several industry forums and working groups. For example, Textile Exchange and Plastics Recyclers Europe, UN Plastic Treaty and consultation groups for the EU Circular Economy Act and EU Clean Industrial Deal, as well as various global Extended Producer Responsibility schemes and standard-setting groups (e.g. ISO, CEN). This helps secure harmonised, clear and robust rules driving the development of a circular society.

Fast facts about recycled materials

This is how we define recycled materials at IKEA: