Ikea products now gobble up one percent of the world’s wood supply. With 100 million products sold every single year, the company uses wood in everything from beds and TV entertainment centers to particle board that is used throughout many of its low-cost home-based products.
According to Pacific Standard , Ikea uses 7.8 million cubic yards of wood every single year, or the equivalent of.00326499108 cubic miles.
While it’s easy to note that Ikea products have very short shelf lives because of their poor build quality, it can also be argued that the company’s focus on sustainable materials purchase has made it a model citizen for the industry. Currently 25 percent of all wood purchased by Ikea is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. That means Ikea is buying wood that is legally and sustainably sourced.
Ikea in its growing attempts to help the environment has put forth plans to purchase 50 percent of all its wood from certified sources within the next five years.
Ikea purchases so much wood that the company has actually split its wood sourcing business and production arm into its own entity. Swedwood was formed in 1991, and it now features 15,000 employees who work at 46 different manufacturing sites. Swedwood sources new wood materials, readies raw wood for production, and harvests needed materials.
Ikea products are loved by buyers and hated by anyone who wants a strongly made product that will withstand the test of time. Regardless of personal views or purchasing requirements, it is hard to ignore the major impact Ikea has on the world’s supply of wood.
It should be noted that Pacific Standard’s estimate is likely made up of all timber used in production and not as a whole. For example, more than 50 percent of the world’s timber is used as fuel for cooking and heating.
Are you surprised to learn that Ikea products eat up a massive one percent of the world’s wood supply?