IKEA has announced it intends to phase out plastic packaging from its consumer range by 2028.
The Swedish furniture retailer said it hopes the move will drive the industry agenda to develop packaging solutions centred around renewable and recycled materials.
It added that it has already ‘significantly’ decreased the amount of plastic used in its packaging solutions, with less than 10% of its total volume of packaging consisting of plastic.
On an annual basis, the retailer revealed that it spends over €1 billion on approximately 920,000 tonnes of packaging material.
It said fully moving away from plastic in consumer packaging will require the engineering of new solutions, as well as ‘close collaboration’ with product development teams and suppliers.
Erik Olsen, packaging and identification manager at IKEA, said, “Phasing out plastic in consumer packaging is the next big step on our journey to make packaging solutions more sustainable and support the overall commitment to reduce plastic pollution and develop packaging from renewable and recycled materials.
“The shift will happen progressively over the coming years, and mainly be focusing on paper as it is both recyclable, renewable, and widely recycled across the world.
“Ingenuity is part of the IKEA heritage, and packaging is by no means an exception in that regard. Shifting away from plastic in our consumer packaging solutions will doubtlessly be a challenging task in the coming years.
“With this movement we aim to spur packaging innovation and use our size and reach to have a positive impact on the wider industry beyond our supply chain.”
IKEA said said that plastic packaging ‘might’ remain in some parts of its food range beyond 2028, due it being needed to secure quality and food safety standards. However, it added that in which case it will come from renewable or recycled sources.
