Ikea launches new range of furniture using rice straws, to be sold by end of year

Ikea has come with his new range of furniture using rice straws—a harvesting residue that contributes heavily to air pollution when burned —into raw material. One peril is burning of rice straws, a residue from harvesting rice that widely aggravates pollution and smog. Through the ‘Better Air Now’ initiative, launched in 2018, rice straws can instead become a new renewable material source for IKEA products. The first results of this initiative can be seen in the upcoming collection Forandring, set to launch in the autumn of 2019, according to a company press release. “Many learnings have been gained from this journey so far and we see countless opportunities for the future. Joining the Climate and Clean Air Coalition is an important next step as it gives the opportunity to gain more knowledge as well as inspire others to be part of addressing this big issue. We want to share our pilot model from Better Air Now for repurposing agricultural residues that can be scaled up and replicated by others in other regions and with other crops,” said Helene Davidsson, Sustainability Manager South Asia at IKEA Purchasing & Logistics. [caption id=“attachment_6762311” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ikea furniture made with rice straws. Pic courtesy: Ikea[/caption] Forandring means ‘change’ in Swedish and illustrates the desire to contribute to positive change; changing current habits where rice straw is being burnt as well as a change for the many people by contributing to better air. The first product prototypes from the collection are presented at Democratic Design Days 2019 in Almhult, Sweden. “The idea of doing something that contributes to improving the situation has given me a lot of energy. We wanted to reflect this important topic in this collection,” says Akanksha Deo, IKEA designer. “Forandring is a collection in the shades of black and blue. It illustrates the present situation with smog and air pollution, and the hopes for a more optimistic future with crisp and clear blue sky,” says Iina Vuorivirta, IKEA designer. The collection is aimed to be sold during autumn 2019 in selected IKEA markets.