People love IKEA. They have all of this fashionable, stylish
furniture and it is so cheap! There are these huge monolithic blocks in the
middle of nowhere filled with all kinds of goodies.
And then I went to one.
IKEA does do quite a few green things. Many of their
products are produced using green means and materials. They use renewable power
to power quite a few of their stores. And the even urge people to take reusable
bags and eat off of reusable plates.
With all of these great green things how could I possibly
have a problem with them?
Easy. My whole life I've used my hands to build, repair, and
maintain things. I never started off with reduce, reuse in mind, this was just necessary
for my low-income life. I know quality when I feel it and I felt none there.
IKEA pushes mass consumption of items that are cheaply made, break easy, and
are discarded a few years later. All of the green work they do is immediately wiped
out by this fact. Walking through their store, when I could catch my breath, I thought
that this is the problem with the world.
I know there is rebuttal to this line of thinking. What
about those who can't afford new furniture? Who ever said one has to have new
furniture. I've bought exactly two pieces of furniture in my life: a couch that
I gave away because I didn't like it and my kitchen table and chairs that I've
had for about seven years. Everything else in my house was given to me when someone
was getting rid of something. We have some really nice things and we never had
to pay for them. And if you don't know of anyone getting rid of furniture there
is always craigslist, Goodwill, flea markets, freecycle, and your local thrift
or consignment shops.
Reusing quality stuff until it is no longer any good is way
greener than buying green products that you have to change out frequently.
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