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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

#301

Post by addicted »

chrisseaton wrote: post #271
nom wrote: post #256

I never understood why people hate IKEA. Yes it's cheap. Yes it doesn't last a lifetime. Yes it needs a lot of wood. Yes it's highly optimized. But guess what, IKEA is a business responding to the needs of people. The negatives that are mentioned frequently are merely a symptom of our ever faster developing society. The people who complain are the same ones that just buy cheap crap from china without even thinking ab…

It's the junk food of furniture. Produced at scale with poor materials, satisfies people's immediate need, locations are functional and service is fast. But don't you want something more substantial and created with more craft? You probably don't need more than one adult bed in a lifetime, for example. I've got furniture that's been in use hundreds of years.

I don't think the junk food comparison is valid.

IKEA design often deservedly wins awards, and their products are a great fit for many use cases that otehrs don't even cover.

It's closer to fast casual than to junk food. More Shake Shack than McDonalds, but not a steakhouse.

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

#302

Post by chaosbutters314 »

nom wrote: post #256

I never understood why people hate IKEA. Yes it's cheap. Yes it doesn't last a lifetime. Yes it needs a lot of wood. Yes it's highly optimized. But guess what, IKEA is a business responding to the needs of people. The negatives that are mentioned frequently are merely a symptom of our ever faster developing society. The people who complain are the same ones that just buy cheap crap from china without even thinking ab…

probably because of its relationship to nazism

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/01/2...

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

#303

Post by candu »

nom wrote: post #256

I never understood why people hate IKEA. Yes it's cheap. Yes it doesn't last a lifetime. Yes it needs a lot of wood. Yes it's highly optimized. But guess what, IKEA is a business responding to the needs of people. The negatives that are mentioned frequently are merely a symptom of our ever faster developing society. The people who complain are the same ones that just buy cheap crap from china without even thinking ab…

Personally, I dislike IKEA for registering as a non-profit, when they're very clearly not. To me, this belongs in the same bucket as any number of tax avoidance schemes that ensure wealthy individuals pay far lower tax rates than the average person, and that large corporations pay effectively nothing.

If they're able to provide great customer service - well, good on them, but I'd much rather the public purse have the money necessary to support people in general. I'm very, very tired of "innovation" being used as an excuse to completely ignore relevant taxes and laws, especially when said innovation is often possible only because of extensive public investment in research, supply chain stability, etc.

(If you're not sure what I'm talking about with that last sentence: read The Entrepreneurial State, or talk to anyone who's ever received a DARPA / NSF / etc. grant, or maybe even just go look at an actual public sector budget sometime.)

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

#304

Post by nashashmi »

fimdomeio wrote: post #13

I have a problem with IKEA. Aren't those peaces of furniture made of composite materials and those not so sturdy shelves a sustainability problem when compared to traditional furniture making which is mostly wood glue a protective coat which lasts for hundreds of years can be infinitely repaired in a workshop with some basic tools. And then it it all ends it can became firewood, which ikea furniture can't. Shouldn't…

Yeah, that cheap composite wood is use once and dump. It can’t even survive a move sometimes.

But is it a sustainability problem? No. In fact if I can recycle wood destined for the furnace into engineered wood, it’s better. If I can recycle engineered wood to become engineered wood again, it’s better.

The other benefit of real wood you mention (restoring and finish) happens less in the western world. Here they dump and move on. Sadly.

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

#305

Post by Pasorrijer »

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #145
kuschku wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can just go to any IKEA and buy a replacement part? Every single part they've ever sold is available at the replacement desk in their stores (at least here in Germany). Even individual screws, legs, etc. When I broke a door and one of the hinges of a kitchen cabinet, I just went to IKEA and bought a replacement door (of the exact same type) and replacement hinge) and replaced them.

Not available in the US. The only thing they will do is either sell you spare small parts or issue a refund.

I find this odd, in Canada we can get all the replacement parts needed. Just may have to wait a bit but they have them.

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

#306

Post by SpocksBrain »

chaosbutters314 wrote: post #302
nom wrote: post #256

I never understood why people hate IKEA. Yes it's cheap. Yes it doesn't last a lifetime. Yes it needs a lot of wood. Yes it's highly optimized. But guess what, IKEA is a business responding to the needs of people. The negatives that are mentioned frequently are merely a symptom of our ever faster developing society. The people who complain are the same ones that just buy cheap crap from china without even thinking ab…

probably because of its relationship to nazism https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/01/2...

Seems from that article that that relationship is rather nuanced and only really pertains to the founder and not the company at large.

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

#307

Post by hiq »

nom wrote: post #256

I never understood why people hate IKEA. Yes it's cheap. Yes it doesn't last a lifetime. Yes it needs a lot of wood. Yes it's highly optimized. But guess what, IKEA is a business responding to the needs of people. The negatives that are mentioned frequently are merely a symptom of our ever faster developing society. The people who complain are the same ones that just buy cheap crap from china without even thinking ab…

> I never understood why people hate IKEA.

Did you read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA#Criticisms ? There seems to be many reasons to dislike the company, even as a happy customer.

One thing that stuck with me is this:

"The IKEA group has a complex corporate structure, which members of the European Parliament have alleged was designed to avoid over €1 billion in tax payments over the 2009–2014 period."

It seems easy to sell cheaper if you just pay less taxes.

I'm not hating IKEA, but it's obviously not black or white.

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

#308

Post by jonfw »

loceng wrote: post #23
piokoch wrote: 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…

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.

who are the next largest furniture manufacturers, and how does Ikea's durability/sustainability match up with them?

Ikea doesn't compete with hardwood furniture... They compete with Wayfair, target, and Walmart furniture. Ikea builds a significantly better product with the same materials IMO.

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

#309

Post by snarf21 »

nom wrote: post #256

I never understood why people hate IKEA. Yes it's cheap. Yes it doesn't last a lifetime. Yes it needs a lot of wood. Yes it's highly optimized. But guess what, IKEA is a business responding to the needs of people. The negatives that are mentioned frequently are merely a symptom of our ever faster developing society. The people who complain are the same ones that just buy cheap crap from china without even thinking ab…

I don't even think it is that cheap. It is better than the quality you get at most furniture stores for a lower price.

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

#310

Post by throwaway349957 »

nom wrote: post #256

I never understood why people hate IKEA. Yes it's cheap. Yes it doesn't last a lifetime. Yes it needs a lot of wood. Yes it's highly optimized. But guess what, IKEA is a business responding to the needs of people. The negatives that are mentioned frequently are merely a symptom of our ever faster developing society. The people who complain are the same ones that just buy cheap crap from china without even thinking ab…

Maybe because it's not an American company.
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