IKEA has just launched another second-hand marketplace. But will it stop producing ‘fast furniture’?
IKEA has launched a second-hand marketplace in the UK, providing customers with a new way to buy and sell pre-loved furniture. The scheme, which is already available in countries like Sweden and Spain,...
IKEA has launched a second-hand marketplace in the UK, providing customers with a new way to buy and sell pre-loved furniture.
The scheme, which is already available in countries like Sweden and Spain, follows the company’s Buyback & Resell service 2021. This allowed shoppers to sell eligible products back to IKEA in exchange for in-store credit.
But the new initiative enables “peer-to-peer transactions”, allowing sellers to receive cash for their pre-loved furniture or a digital IKEA refund card.
How does IKEA’s second-hand market place work?
Customers can list current or previously sold IKEA home furnishing products on the marketplace – with the exception of mattresses, appliances and food. Modified produce, recalled products and furniture not from the IKEA brand are also not permitted.
Sellers can scan an eligible item to create a listing, making it easier to pass on IKEA furniture they no longer need. The platform provides recommended pricing, professional product photography and accurate measurements, helping sellers prepare their listings.
Each listing also includes product descriptions, assembly instructions and care information, giving prospective buyers useful details before they make contact. Sellers can choose to receive their proceeds as cash or receive a 15 per cent top-up on an IKEA digital refund card.
The move follows research commissioned by IKEA that found that more than one in four UK adults said a personal history or story would make pre-owned furniture more desirable to them.
Last year, 63 per cent of UK consumers bought products through reselling platforms, marking a 51 per cent increase compared to 2024. More than half (52 per cent) had sold something online in the last 12 months, while 60 per cent say buying second-hand helps stretch their budget.
“The way people furnish their homes has changed,” says Greg Lucas, IKEA UK & Ireland’s sustainability manager.
“Whether they’re moving, redecorating or looking for a particular piece, more customers are considering pre-owned furniture alongside new and are actively searching for items that can help create a home that feels personal to them.”
IKEA’s marketplace is part of the company’s aim to prioritise affordability in a cost-of-living crisis. Prices on the marketplace are on average 60 per cent lower than comparable new products.
Sustainability absent from IKEA’s new marketplace launch
Buying second-hand furniture is significantly better for the environment as it can help keep bulky items out of landfills and cuts emissions from manufacturing. Opting for pre-loved furniture opposed to new items also reduces the demand for virgin resources – helping to protect ecosystems such as forests.
But each year, IKEA reportedly introduces 2,000 new products each year. It’s why the Swedish firm is often referred to as a ‘fast furniture’ brand and has garnered heavy criticism from environmentalists.
“We see the IKEA second-hand marketplace as complementary alongside our new product offer,” a spokesperson from Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, tells Euronews Earth.
“People’s homes, needs and budgets change. Sometimes they choose new, and sometimes a pre-owned product is a better fit.”
IKEA products already account for nine per cent of Europe’s second-hand furniture market through other platforms, according to the spokesperson. It seems the firm is looking to expand in this market – without giving up on its ‘fast furniture’ model.
A 2024 investigation by Greenpeace found that furniture manufacturers producing for IKEA were sourcing wood from some of Europe’s last remaining old-growth forests in the Romanian Carpathians, including in Natura 2000 protected areas.
At the time, IKEA said it remains “committed” to responsible sourcing practices that ensure its products and operations don’t contribute to deforestation or forest degradation.
IKEA aims to halve its absolute greenhouse gas emissions across the entire value chain by 2030 compared to 2016 levels. It also wants to only use renewable and recycled materials by 2030, and shift towards 100 per cent renewable electricity and energy efficiency across its operations.
