Ikea. The four-letter word we love to use. It’s cheap, it’s cool, there’s a bus, they have products named after onomatopoeic bodily functions, and where else can you eat lingonberries?! Well, this month’s issue of The Atlantic
has named Ikea “the least sustainable retailer on the planet”.

Face it, when your $20 bookshelf broke you just threw it out and went back for another one, right? And why not, they’re so cheap!! (And there’s a bus! And where else can you eat lingonberries?!……) But our demand for highly disposable wood furniture has made Ikea the third-largest wood consumer in the world. Not to mention that the average consumer drives 50 miles round trip to get that $20 bookshelf.

As Atlantic asks: “Can we afford to keep shopping at places where an item’s price reflects only a fraction of its societal costs?”

Buy to Last [The Atlantic]
(Photo: rich_w)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.