IKEA wanted to take about their measures to become sustainable and 100% climate positive by 2030. But it’s hard to break through when you want to talk about sustainability, and even harder when you’re IKEA and people often see your furniture as disposable just because it’s affordable.

IKEA is Norway’s largest furniture retailer, and also the cheapest. Norway is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. With an average annual income of €74.000, it’s easy for us to buy new things rather than re-use or take care of what we have. Every year in Norway alone, we throw away more than 3 million pieces of furniture. Which is a lot, when you think about the fact that we have a total population of 5,4 million people.

So how could we break through with a sustainable message from IKEA, when people see your products as just the opposite?

In order for IKEA to become credible when talking about their many measures towards a more sustainable profile, we knew we first had to address the elephant in the room. We knew we would struggle to talk about sustainable measures IKEA are taking, if people just see our products as low quality or easily discardable. We needed to change people’s perception of IKEA furniture as disposable - by adopting a completely new and honest way to talk about our products.

To make sure our sustainable message was heard, and not least believed, we chose to show that we know IKEA is a part of the problem, but that we also have the solutions. So we made The Trash Collection 2021. We went out and found actual IKEA trash, gave it a wash and a few spare parts, and sold it as a new collection back at IKEA.

The campaign needed to address two target audiences; the people who shop at IKEA but see our furniture as disposable and throw them away, and the more environmentally minded people who don't shop at IKEA because they also see our furniture as disposable.

We knew we had to treat The Trash Collection 2021 as massive and proudly as any other collection launch from IKEA. By showing everyone how little it takes to give discarded furniture new life, we aimed to change perceptions of the potential lifespan of IKEA furniture.

We knew we had to treat The Trash Collection 2021 as massive and proudly as any other collection launch from IKEA.

The collection was heroed in a massive national 360 campaign. Every element was treated just like any other IKEA collection, with a massive push on TV, in glossy lifestyle magazines, outdoor, in-store and with its own IKEA-website. Every element talked about just how little it takes to give furniture new life - either by ordering free spare parts or by selling your old furniture back to us.

The Trash Collection 2021 was only launched in Norway, but reached around the globe and was discussed in massive news outlets all over the world. From The Daily Mail in London, to the largest economic paper in Italy Il Sole 24 Ore, the collection reached far beyond just the advertising world.

The Trash Collection 2021 was only launched in Norway, but reached around the globe and was discussed in massive news outlets all over the world. From The Daily Mail in London, to the largest economic paper in Italy Il Sole 24 Ore, the collection reached far beyond just the advertising world.

For IKEA Norway though, the local results mattered the most: Sales of used furniture back to IKEA more than doubled, expanding the Trash Collection by over 3000 pieces and counting. Orders of free spare parts rose with 20% per week since launch, and most importantly: the perception of IKEA as a sustainable company is now at an all time high.