In recent years, sustainability has become the lifestyle to follow. The idea is to produce little to no waste from daily activities to protect the environment and future generations.
Living a sustainable life is challenging at first–some even see it as more expensive than opting for single-use plastics and similar materials.
However, humanity will pay a larger price if they don’t start considering the environment’s needs.
The most plausible solution to solving climate change and the degradation of the environment is by following a sustainable lifestyle. Yet, for it to be efficient, people must also consider businesses that share their ideas on sustainability.
For IKEA, the Swedish-founded furniture store with branches across the globe, sustainability begins at home. And what better way to start that initiative than by setting an example within their store.
Sustainability gives George Platzer, store manager of IKEA at the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City, passion and inspiration. As the manager of the largest IKEA store, it’s his responsibility to share IKEA’s mission of inspiring and empowering Filipinos to live sustainably.
Rags2Riches, a social enterprise that empowers women artisans, also shares this vision with the Swedish-founded furniture store. Co-founded by Reese Fernandez, Rags2Riches provides sewing services for IKEA, like altering curtains and producing pillowcases, bedsheets, and more.
As their contribution to sustainability, the women artisans of Rags2Riches are creating textiles made from scrap fabrics while still following IKEA’s standards of style and quality to ensure that none of them goes to waste. Rags2Riches also follows this same sustainable principle in creating their fashionable pieces.
“Sustainability always starts with us, and it can start small—it can start with simple things we do at home to the habits we form to the companies that we support,” Fernandez said.
Mober, IKEA’s delivery service, also took a significant step towards sustainability. Established during the pandemic by Dennis Ng, Mober aims to lower carbon emissions and reduce the number of delivery trucks in traffic by utilizing as much of its space as possible when making deliveries.
Presently, Mober utilizes electric-powered trucks to meet its sustainability goals while providing Filipino consumers with the service that IKEA boasts of.
Working hand-in-hand with their local partners, IKEA provides everyday Filipinos a chance to bring sustainability into their homes and follow in the journey. With the collaboration between large companies and SMEs that share a passion for sustainability, the public–or in this case, the Filipinos–have a better chance of combating climate change and mitigating its harmful effects.
However, the most significant step towards sustainability that the Swedish-founded furniture store took is upcycling or refurbishing old furniture and fixtures to give them new life before reselling.
Located on the third floor of IKEA Philippines, the Circular Shop is IKEA’s worldwide sustainability initiative. But since the store only opened in November of last year, it may take some time before it accepts furniture for returns as they’re still establishing a good rapport with the Filipino consumers.
IKEA proves that it takes small steps to achieve a significant achievement that even future generations can appreciate.
