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A transparent plastic bag seen floating in the sea. IKEA uses recycled plastic in the MUSSELBLOMMA collection.

Turning plastic waste into beautiful textiles

We’re also concerned about the plastic in our oceans. That’s why we created MUSSELBLOMMA using ocean found plastic, in collaboration with Spanish fishermen. Together with partners, we’re now looking for new ways to turn pollution into home furnishing products.

Watch how IKEA makes use of plastic from the ocean

A collaborative effort

We collaborated with Spanish fishermen, who catch huge amounts of plastic pollution in their fishing nets every day. This waste is collected in containers, and then sorted, cleaned and turned into flakes, pellets, yarn and fabric.

A bag and a tablecloth from the IKEA MUSSELBLOMMA textile collection together with fishing nets.
Products from the IKEA MUSSELBLOMMA textile collection, designed by the Spanish designer Inma Bermúdez, with inspiration from the ocean.

For every kilo of PET plastic waste that can be used for the fabric, another 9 kilos of litter is also taken out of the ocean.

Cleaning up more than just plastic

The result is seen in the MUSSELBLOMMA collection – a bag, two cushion covers and a tablecloth made from recycled plastic. The polyester fabric used in the collection is made from recycled plastic, which includes PET plastic waste that was collected by the Spanish fishermen. What’s great about this is that for every kilo of PET plastic waste that can be used for the fabric, another 9 kilos of litter (other plastics, metal, rubber, glass and other materials) is also taken out of the ocean.

The big picture

The project is in line with our commitment to becoming a circular business by 2030. Our goal is to have all our products and packaging materials to be based on renewable and/or recycled materials by 2030. Since January 2020, all single-use plastic has been phased out from our product range globally, as single-use plastic products are one of the major contributors of plastic in our oceans.

What’s next?

”We are currently exploring different projects around the world to scale up this type of work, in collaboration with NGOs, partners and suppliers,” says Caroline Reid, Sustainability Development Manager at IKEA Range & Supply. We 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.