Image via IKEA
IKEA isn’t all about assembling furniture; it also hopes to stitch together a sustainable future. In a creative twist on recycling, the company is launching VÄXELBRUK, a collection crafted from recycled coworker uniforms. This effort is part of its ongoing endeavors to explore responsible practices within its value chain.
When the Swedish giant introduced new staff attire in Europe in 2020, it found itself with heaps of chucked clothing practically destined for landfill. Over the next two years, it took back the old garments and ended up amassing hundreds of pallets. Curiously, this collection inspired the VÄXELBRUK project, which aimed to transform the wear into secondary raw materials. Hence sparked an elaborate exploration of the recycling process, from the gathering of textile waste to creating all-new products.
Image via IKEA
VÄXELBRUK—meaning interchangeable use in Swedish—comprises 16 textile-based items, spanning curtains, throws, cushion covers, and bags. These pieces are upcycled from 300 tonnes of discarded IKEA uniforms, blended with other materials like recycled polyester from used PET bottles to achieve the desired quality and color. Interestingly, a batch of faulty new coworker clothing was also repurposed in this series.
Image via IKEA
The objects aren’t audaciously yellow and blue, which is a deliberate choice—the design of the VÄXELBRUK products cleverly conceals their origins. By incorporating other fabric colors from industrial textile offcuts, IKEA was able to subtly alter the originally bright hues of the uniforms. “It helped make the yellow less yellow and the blue less blue,” comments Luca Clerici, the brand’s business and innovation deployment leader, who jokes that the company opted not to go with a Swedish flag theme.
Images via IKEA
From the experimentation, IKEA discovered friendlier ways to fine-tune fabric hues without having to resort to dyeing, a technique that can be resource-intensive and costly.
Image via IKEA
By imaginatively merging upcycled fibers, it achieved its desired color effects in a manner that respected the earth.
Image via IKEA
Lena Julle, IKEA of Sweden’s sustainability manager, emphasizes that VÄXELBRUK is an example of going against the grain of existing practices and developing “ways of working for recycling.”
Image via IKEA
The initiative was not just about reducing waste; it encompassed a broad range of cross-disciplinary learnings, from supply chain management to product development and design, Clerici asserts. These insights will now be shared companywide to inform future initiatives.
When VÄXELBRUK rolls out in February 2024, the fabrics will return to their source—at stores across Europe—in their fresh, environmentally friendly incarnations.
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[via IKEA]
by rrollins
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