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IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed

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Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed

#201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The plants are not really consuming CO2 in a grown forest, or more accurately they are consuming and releasing CO2 at the same rate. A growing forest does consume CO2 more than it releases, but it does not seem to be the case now

Your comment, and the sibling that made similar observations, are correct. But a regulatory system where people are taxed on the net carbon contribution of their holdings is likely to reward them for owning land that is occuppied by plants.

But the point still is that net carbon contribution of land occupied by plants is zero.

Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed

#202
post #5

How much would buying all the Brazilian rain forest cost the world, or even renting it from Brazil? We would need it to be slightly more than cattle farming to work... but I’d happily pay towards this.

The most cost effective way is probably dropping a few hundred million anti personnel mines in the forest. They're very cheap to produce, very expensive to remove, and reliably keep people out of the area.

That's quite... clever. But what about the wildlife?

Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed

#203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think he means IKEA owns 33% of the forest. 33% is the total percentage of forest and IKEA is the bigger single owner of forests. Two separate statements.

Sure. But it really means IKEA is the biggest single owner of forests, apart from the owner who owns 40 times as much as IKEA does.

Who owns 40 times more?

Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed

#204
post #138
post #14

This smells like some really bold and really ridiculous PR attempt. "Ikea uses about one percent—yes, one percent—of the world's entire commercial wood supply. That amounts to about 17.8 million cubic yards of lumber last year. " [1] I guess they need this PR purchase to appease some eko organization. And this is equally ridiculous. Ikea is making furniture, something people really need. Why they have to explain them…

> Ikea is making furniture, something people really need. The problem is that, like with clothes, people THINK they need more and newer things all the time because Marketing tells them that they do. I read somewhere (can't find the link right now) that shit tons of clothes and other items are not laying around in warehouses not being sold (due to lockdown) and I don't see people walking around naked in the streets. S…

Well the thing with furniture is that it fills up your place quickly. As apartments get smaller (most countries are in a housing crisis) that pretty much stops people buying furniture they don't need.

I only ever buy furniture because I really have a need for it. Not because I think it's cool or anything.

Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed

#205
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because they're fighting the arguably true reality that the majority of their furniture is designed to be disposable, and consumers are generally fine with that. I'd like to be wrong, though until we require companies to be responsible for all costs associated with the full lifecycle of a product so externalized costs are incorporated, we're not going to develop the most sustainable practices.

Disposable? I've never had to throw away any IKEA furniture. These things can easily last 15 years.

15 years? My table is 90. My grandparents bought it used when they first moved together after their wedding. Hardwood and a bit of care once in a while (2-3 years, waxing) goes a long way.

Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed

#206
post #5

How much would buying all the Brazilian rain forest cost the world, or even renting it from Brazil? We would need it to be slightly more than cattle farming to work... but I’d happily pay towards this.

Buying rain forest would mean nothing for illegal rare wood markets, or illegal gold mining, or illegal forest fires to stretch cattle grazing area. Most people grossly underestimate how wild and pretty much lawless inland rain-forest regions are in the Brazilian state of Amazonas . There are small pockets of settlements everywhere but except for Manaus there is very sparse infrastructure, Police will take days to ge…

Pretty sure most would support repurposing Tomahawk missiles and MQ-9 Reapers for the protection of the Amazon.

Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed

#207

"IKEA is continuing to try and remain true to their principals—protecting the environment and striving to become a carbon neutral company, while still remaining one of the world’s most pleasurable shopping experiences." Written by someone who has clearly never been to an IKEA.

Some people actually love it! Some people really view it as a day trip. Especially the showroom part. I always skip that entirely :P

I know, I don't know how someone can love it either.. I hate the way they have these predefined paths so you can't quickly get what you need. And if you try to use the shortcut they make it as difficult as possible.

Usually I pick everything online and find out the storage locations, and just walk in through the checkouts to get what I need straight from the warehouse. Only issue is that some of the smaller knicknacks are only on the shop floor :(

Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed

#208
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because they're fighting the arguably true reality that the majority of their furniture is designed to be disposable, and consumers are generally fine with that. I'd like to be wrong, though until we require companies to be responsible for all costs associated with the full lifecycle of a product so externalized costs are incorporated, we're not going to develop the most sustainable practices.

I've been using a lot of IKEA furniture for many years, some new, some secondhand (sometimes I'm the third or fourth owner) and I must say they're quite durable unlike some of the new furniture I've bought over the year and had to throw away.

Almost everything I have in my house is Ikea, from the desk I'm typing this on (10 years old) and the cupboard next to it (12 years), to my 4 year old bed (had to buy a new bed frame when we moved in to this house because the divan couldn't fit up the stairs)

Aside from one wardrobe which I had to get rid of (it was 237cm -- too tall for this house, so I gave it to my parents), the only furniture I can think of that hasn't lasted is the stuff from places that wasn't Ikea.

I get the feeling that Americans don't rate Ikea as highly as Europeans for some reason, possibly because it's a foreign firm (thinking of popular american TV shows of the late 90s and early 00s showing people struggling with assembling flat pack furniture)

https://notesmatic.com/2016/12/challenge-of-culture-in-marke...

> When entering the US market, it faced a major challenge because the business model it had been using was not replicable in US. Soon IKEA realized that the local culture was a challenge and there was a definite need to adapt to it

Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed

#209
post #179
post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, I had some second-hand (a desk, used for four eyars) and third-hand (an office chair, used for the last ~9 years) and yes it's pretty durable. The chair show it's ages on the fake-leather upper side (where your back lays) but then again... It's been used at elast nine years (but maybe it's been ten or eleven).

erhm... sorry... but IMHO nine years are "nothing". A good chair should last at least 50 years.

A good office chair should last 50 years? A dining room set, sure, but an office chair is closer to white collar work boots than traditional furniture.

A decade seems reasonable to be honest. In order to be comfortable and ergonomic for ~8 hrs a day the chair will inevitably have some soft components that wear out.

Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed

#210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using a lot of IKEA furniture for many years, some new, some secondhand (sometimes I'm the third or fourth owner) and I must say they're quite durable unlike some of the new furniture I've bought over the year and had to throw away.

Almost everything I have in my house is Ikea, from the desk I'm typing this on (10 years old) and the cupboard next to it (12 years), to my 4 year old bed (had to buy a new bed frame when we moved in to this house because the divan couldn't fit up the stairs) Aside from one wardrobe which I had to get rid of (it was 237cm -- too tall for this house, so I gave it to my parents), the only furniture I can think of that…

Here in Europe it has a pretty bad name too. But I love it. Their furniture is very versatile, functional and easy.

Also, even though furniture snobs hate it, I love pointing out their KALLAX or BILLY units behind them in online meetings :D :D Then it's "oh yeah but this is my home office, it's not so important".

In my place literally all my furniture is from Ikea and I love it. I don't like spending much on it, and IMO the durability is really excellent. What really helps is that they sell cheap covers for my couches, so if I get bored of them or they get dirty I can just buy a new cover for 29 euros and it's like a brand new couch again!

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