Recycled materials at IKEA
At IKEA, we're always looking for a better way to do things. So, we asked ourselves: how can we use recycled cotton and keep that soft, high-quality feel? Read on to discover how we are turning waste material into something beautiful with ÄNGSLILJA bed linen.
Cotton has been part of everyday life for centuries, and it's easy to see why. It's soft, breathable and versatile. "We sleep in it, we wrap ourselves in it, we use it to bring comfort into our homes," says Minna Karlsson-Alm, Range Sustainability Leader at IKEA.
Our first move was to look at what already exists. "In every textile factory, there are leftovers – small pieces, yarn ends, trimmings," explains Minna. "By using production leftovers, we save resources and prevent waste."
Edge lint from weaving machines is collected for recycling.
Everyone loves drifting off in comfort. And that starts with breathable bedding that feels soft against your skin. Traditionally, it has been difficult to use a higher proportion of recycled cotton, which has shorter fibres, as the recycling process can affect the strength and softness of the fabric.
To overcome this, we blended the recycled cotton with virgin cotton, finding the right balance to achieve the softness and quality you expect from our ÄNGSLILJA bed linen.
The fibre is opened, made into uniform strands, and then twisted before it is turned into yarn.
Cotton lint is cleaned and blended to remove impurities, then combed and formed into a web.
Fibres are twisted into yarn, then wound onto bobbins.
Achieving just the right fibre length, strength, and consistency in a blend of recycled and virgin cotton takes careful balancing and testing. If the fibres are too short, the yarn can become weaker, shed more easily, and be less efficient to produce.
We started by working with our suppliers to blend the recycled cotton fibres with virgin cotton, and tested it in the same way we do with virgin cotton.
This included repeated washing and drying cycles to assess appearance, durability, colour retention, and fibre shedding.
The cotton is tested for shrinkage, pilling performance and strength.
A factory co-worker inspects the woven fabric to ensure it meets our quality standards.
By continuously refining the production process in various pilot projects, we were able to increase the share of recycled cotton in products like the new ÄNGSLILJA bed linen, which now contains a minimum of 30% recycled cotton.
But there was one final piece of the puzzle: how could we make good use of the recycled cotton at larger volumes, so more people could enjoy our well-loved bedding? "By using different spinning techniques, we were able to make more efficient use of the blended fibres," says Puneet Arora, Category Sourcing Leader, Textiles at IKEA.
We're excited to keep looking for new ways to use recycled and renewable materials in the products we offer. Discover more about our latest efforts.
