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I love Ikea

Well put.

I like Ikea. I have no "eco-guilt". At all. I am very into sustainable living- but I have to say- I am tired of hearing the term "green".

I *big-heart-with-hands-pillow* Ikea. I probably have 50 itty-bitty Ikea allen wrenches. I have Ikea pieces that are close to 20 years old and still going strong, both in quality and (I think) style. While some fancy-schmancy "designer" pieces not so much.

A few Ikea items really are you-get-what-you-pay-for and I would hope that an extra dollar here and there in quality parts would be something the consumer would bear.

Some of the fiber board pieces I purchased a few years ago for the kids did not stand up as well as I had hoped. It really isn't that much of a monetary loss, but a shame nonetheless environmentally. Knotty pine might be SO 1990's, but at least it holds up and doesn't crumble at the joints. I would hope that Ikea would return to more inexpensive (sustainable) wood instead of fiber board. So, Ikea, if you're reading this, consider this the friendly memo.

Ikea
Just some oak and some pine and a handful of Norsemen
Ikea
Selling furniture for college kids and divorced men
Everyone has a home
But if you don't have a home
You can buy one there

Also read John Grant's 'Green Marketing Manifesto' - he talks a lot about IKEA and other giants trying to reduce their carbon footprint but IKEA has always been doing its part and being quiet about it. No guilt for me when buying from them.

This absolutely does NOT change the way I view IKEA. Not one bit. It is highly improbable, maybe impossible, to run a company that hits all the right social marks. Between cost, recycled/recyclable products, and a "green" building to house it all in, something's gotta give. I applaud any company that at least makes an effort to not be wasteful, so go IKEA. What more do the haters want?
I'm also tired of being forced to ride the green electric-powered bandwagon. Green is the latest fad. The majority of the green screamers will forget all about it once the economy turns around. As long as we all aren't wasteful and do our part to keep our little corner of the world clean, we should have nothing to worry about.

SputnikSpak...that was beautiful!

I like Ikea, and I appreciate their efforts, which really do make me like them more than I would otherwise.

I agree with fledgling in that some stuff is definitely you-get-what-you pay-for. Some really cheap items didn't last very long. But I purchased a couple of their more expensive Expedit office furniture pieces 10 years ago, and they are still going strong.

Yes, I agree with other posts - some IKEA stuff holds up very well and others -eh... Some armoires I bought for the bedrooms have very flimsy backing, but the Billy bookcases and a kitchen table I have (don't remember the name, but it has a Shaker-type look to it) are TOUGH. You just have to think about what you are buying and who will be using it.

This only works if people do not treat IKEA furnishings as disposable. Given the number of college kids and young folks who buy IKEA until they can afford "grown-up" furniture, this is not always the case.

I would love to meet this person riding on my street- that's so great/ hilarious!

Seaside: I take no credit.

The words belong to Jonathan Coulton.

Find the song here:
http://www.jonathancoulton.com/store/downloads/
In the Smoking Monkey album.

Or, conversely, watch it live on the 'Tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyeynCnXMoo

Pine is actually becoming more and more difficult to find due to the prevelance of blue stain on the raw wood. That's one reason why lots of Ikea wood products are changing from antique to black-brown. That and MDF can be made from leftover scrap of the solid wood products. They go hand in hand.

"I am very into sustainable living- but I have to say- I am tired of hearing the term 'green'."
This is just hypocrisy and/or lazy thinking. You give a damn about the planet and its future or you don't. The fact that you've grown "tired" of it is neither here nor there -- it isn't about you, your shifting tastes, trendiness your your mood.
In our wealthy, materialistic, over-spending developed world, being truly "sustainable" will involve "sacrifices" (I put that in quotation marks because to most of the world, the things we're sacrificing -- eg the latest Ikea temptation -- are sheer luxuries). Please don't try to have your smug sustainable cake and eat it too. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh. I buy and love Ikea too. But for Pete's sake, if furnishings are more important to you than the environment, just say so. Why preface it with some half-hearted claim that you're "very into" (egads!) sustainability, before complaining languidly that you're just "tired" of hearing about it? Guilty conscience, much??

"You just have to think about what you are buying..." and "This only works if people do not treat IKEA furnishings as disposable..."
These seem the most useful thoughts to me -- neither Ikea nor any other brand is a guarantee of environmental frendliness (or unfriendliness). We've all got to think about each purchase, where each thing comes from and what we do with the stuff afterwards...

I spend a lot of time driving in Europe mainly in France, Spain, Italy and Britain I have never seen an 'IKEA' truck. I think they must use plain trucks because there would be so many of them on the roads we might start to question their footprint.

I love Ikea and have no guilt when I make purchases there. At least they are making an effort.

In regards to the term "green", I believe it is thrown around a lot in a trendy way but it's a serious issue and I think people should take it more seriously. It is interesting to learn that IKEA has been making moves behind the scenes to become more eco-friendly and not making a prodcution about it, because goodness knows they could gain a lot of positive press from the idea!

I heart IKEA.

As long as you buy the quality products at Ikea, (any line that is solid wood, not particle board and MDF) then they will last forever. Our kitchen table that we bought when we first got married has moved 3 times, and looks brand new. Ikea doesn't have to be for college kids and poor people - it can be for people who think spending 10,000 on a table or 800 on a chair that is stylish is ridiculous, self centered, and wholly stupid. That money could be better spent on a charity or installing solar panels or energy efficient appliances in your home.

Also, I feel that actually building my furniture myself is a greener move than having someone else build it for me. I not only am learning valuable skills (how to read directions! how to screw nails into walls that are plaster and crumbly! how to not use the wooden dowels if at all possible so you can take it apart when you move!) but I am having a smaller eco-footprint due to the fact that the boxes were flatpacked, therefore took up less space on the truck, therefore made it so more items could fit on, therefore making less trucks necessary to bring the items to Ikea.

Sorry - This "Green" windowdressing is a load of crap.

Before IKEA when folks needed affordable home furnishings, they bought second-hand, inherited from friends and family, and/or fixed up found items themselves - and when they bought new, they bought from local retailers who sourced from local manufacturers using local resources.

Now we get toxic pressboard crapola imported from China, our cheap and broken old furniture ends up in landfills and our neighbors who used to be skilled craftsmen, caring moving-men and well-paid salespersons are wondering how to feed their families.

Im torn on this post. Yes, I like some Ikea - in moderation, and chosen for it's durability & longevity: solid wood/plywood etc.

And yet- so many of their furnishings are clearly disposable. No one expects a particleboard etagere to last more than a year in a steamy bathroom. (And lets be clear - Particleboard and MDF are different animals. )

I live in Boston - (with 55 colleges & universities) Move out day in springtime is a disaster. Literally MOUNTAINS of trash pile up on the curbs - and you can see Ikea in every one of them.

What I would greatly applaud is if Ikea developed a way to recycle particleboard. Surely they can do SOMEthing with it besides leaving it on the curbside.

Oh yeah, and stop knocking off Alvar Alto and Marcel Breuer!

no matter what ikea does on their end, many, many people will continue to view ikea purchases as temporary, easily-replaceable items. they will buy them to follow the trend of a given year with no intention of keeping them long term. this leads to waste and feeds into over-consuming. so please, think carefully about whether or not you really *need* that latest item from the ikea catalog.

and I think what lorijo meant by being tired of the term 'green' was the term itself-- the fact that's it's a buzzword that's being branded onto anything and everything and often used in a self-congratulatory manner-- not the principles behind it (but that's my interpretation). nothing smug in that, and it's an opinion that's shared by many. (so chill out, melba! we still love the planet!)

Don't throw it away- Freecycle it. Ikea freecycle is like gold.