IKEA presents the VÄXELBRUK textile collection made from recycled work clothes

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 01. 31. 11:40

IKEA has reinterpreted the usability of textile waste and given new life to unused work clothes collected from its European stores in the VÄXELBRUK collection. During the pilot project, the Swedish furniture store chain searched for the answer to how second-hand clothes can be given a second chance and how recycling processes can be handled within its own value chain. The VÄXELBRUK series will be available in domestic IKEA stores from February 2024.

Between 2020 and 2022, IKEA introduced new employee work clothes at customer meeting points worldwide, and at the same time collected work clothes no longer in use from its European stores. This was the starting point of a pilot project that investigated how used work clothes can be turned into secondary raw materials and how all steps of the recycling process can be developed within the company, from the collection of textile waste to the production of new products. This is how the VÄXELBRUK product line was born, which will be available from February 2024 in designated IKEA stores in Europe, including in Hungary.

The VÄXELBRUK collection of sixteen textile products also includes curtains, decorative cushion covers, blankets and bags. The products are made from textile fibers obtained from the recycling of work clothes. In order to achieve the desired color and comply with the mandatory quality standards, these fibers are mixed with other materials, such as recycled polyester from used PET bottles or textile materials that have become waste before being put on the market. As well as unused, faulty work clothes, IKEA also used them to create products.