Improvement #7

See what’s missing from our new catalog.

The IKEA catalog was the first major color publication in the world to be printed on Totally Chlorine Free paper. The bleaching technology in the paper and pulp industry has developed and today we know that a harmful substance in the bleaching process is elementary chlorine. Due to that, we use papers in a mix of both TCF and ECF in order not to involve elementary chlorine.

Our ambition, working closely with our paper and printing suppliers, is that all the paper used in the catalogue comes from forests that have been certified as responsibly managed. In 2008, 74% of wood fibres came from certified forests. We’ve moved to a new compact format for the IKEA catalogue, to reduce paper consumption and cut transportation needs. A bonus: CO2 emissions per copy will be lower with the new streamlined catalog format.

Improvement #8

Go organic without going anywhere.

Every year, millions of people eat at IKEA restaurants. And even here we’ve got an eye on the environment – at least one organic dish is offered in all IKEA restaurants and 15% of all products in the Swedish Food Market are certified organic.

Improvement #9

Waste knot! Get the most of every tree.

NORDEN birch tables are a great example of how IKEA tries to get the best possible return from every tree trunk. Introduced in 1998, it was probably the first time anyone had thought of making furniture also from the knotty top part of the birch tree instead of burning it as firewood or grinding it for chipboard production.

Improvement #12

Fewer chemicals against your skin.

We never use optical brighteners in the textiles used in IKEA quilts and pillows. Quilts and pillows must not contain hazardous substances and we always try to minimise the use of chemicals. Whenever practicable, we apply the strictest health and safety requirements on any of our sales markets to all markets.

Improvement #13

A big sofa that travels smaller.

KLIPPAN sofas are one of our most popular and long-lived products. They are also one of the bulkiest, making them hard to transport in a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner. Just a few years ago we made KLIPPAN a knockdown piece – which means the armrests and back slip into slots in the seating base. Suddenly each pallet could fit twice as many sofas. Transports dropped sharply, and costs and carbon dioxide emissions decreased.

Improvement #15

Strong and supportive, yet so much lighter.

LACK side table is one of the first IKEA products made from strong and rigid wood-based frames filled with recycled, honeycombed paper. LACK uses less raw material than particleboard, is more lightweight and thus easier to handle both in our transport chain and for our customers.