IKEA TO BUY BACK USED FURNITURE IN STAND AGAINST ‘EXCESSIVE CONSUMPTION’

Moving up in the world or at least moving homes, customers have for generations faced an awkward question: What do you do with old Ikea furniture, so carefully assembled but so ready to be replaced?

Ikea, the Swedish retailer with a reputation for bargain furniture, offered a solution this week. It announced that next month it will begin a global buyback program of unwanted Ikea furniture to encourage customers to take a stand against excessive consumption.

The program, called “Buy Back,” will begin in Britain on Nov. 24, just ahead of Black Friday, an Ikea spokeswoman said. The program will run in 26 other countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia. The initiative has no end date in Britain or Ireland.

“By making sustainable living more simple and accessible, Ikea hopes that the initiative will help its customers take a stand against excessive consumption this

Black Friday and in the years to come,” the company said.

Noticeably absent from the list of participating countries was the United States. Ikea did not say why the program would not be implemented there.

“It is a country decision, and Ikea Retail U.S. will not participate in the buyback program,” the spokeswoman said. “The U.S. is currently exploring ways to bring Buy Back to the country in the future.”

She added, “This year, they will use the traditional Black Friday to focus on other sustainability initiatives and to promote sustainable living among their customers.”

The condition of the item sold back to Ikea will determine the value. Ikea furniture in “new” condition with no scratches could receive 50 percent of the original price. Furniture in “very good” condition with minor scratches may receive 40 percent of the original price, and “well-used” items, with several scratches, could receive 30 percent of the original price.