With the opening of its Australian-first Sustainable Living Shop, Ikea Australia hopes to assist customers in leading more environmentally friendly lives and, as a result, help them save on household expenses.
By the start of next year, all 10 Ikea stores nationwide will include the new shop-within-a-shop concept, a dedicated space in the store where customers can find products that can help them use less energy and produce less waste at home.
The introduction of the new concept comes at a time when inflation is increasing the cost-of-living pressures on most Australians.
Despite cost-saving practises like using energy-efficient lightbulbs or reducing food waste, a recent survey by Ikea Australia found that more than half of Australians (52 per cent) think leading a sustainable lifestyle will raise their cost of living. In addition, 60 per cent said they believed their homes should adopt more sustainable practices, but more than a third are delaying doing so because of the expense.
An example of Ikea’s eco-friendly products stocked in the Sustainable Living Shop is the Solhetta LED light bulb which lasts 25,000 hours, needing replacement every 20 years if used an average of three hours a day and 35 per cent more energy efficient on average than previous Ikea LED bulbs.
Other eco-friendly Ikea products include Ladda rechargeable batteries, Tradfri LED smart lighting systems, the Hallbar Bin for separating waste types, Hoppvals cellular blinds, Rexbegonia cooling pads and Rosenvial mattress protectors.
Ikea research revealed that 92 per cent of Aussies recycle and nearly one in three Aussies believe recycling is the single most important thing they can do to live more sustainably, yet only 35 per cent of Aussies buy secondhand furniture.
“We hope that by providing end-to-end services such as Buy Back and As-is, will help Aussies see the secondhand furniture market as a great way to live a more sustainable life at home,” said Mellisa Hamilton, country sustainability manager, at Ikea Australia.
Further reading: Ikea to phase out plastic from all consumer packaging by 2028.
