When you're the world's largest furniture retailer, known for cheap and disposable furniture - it's tricky to reach people with a sustainable message.

The Trash Collection 2021 exposed the toughest challenge for IKEA - their furniture as disposable. By choosing to confront how we're part of the problem, the perception of IKEA as a sustainable company soared to an all time high. This case illustrates how embracing your flaw can ultimately turn out to be the most valuable asset.

IKEA wanted to talk about their measures to become a more sustainable company. In fact, IKEA globally have pledged to be a 100% circular and climate-positive company by 2030. To do so, IKEA have already implemented some major changes, like renewable and recycled materials, leasing of office furniture and reducing plastic packaging.

But perhaps the biggest investment they have made is the IKEA Buyback scheme, where they have opened second-hand stores inside every Norwegian IKEA store. Here, IKEA buys back used furniture you no longer need, and resells them to a new owner. To further help customers give their furniture a prolonged life, IKEA have also launched a service where you can order free spare parts online and have them delivered to your mailbox – free of charge.

So how could we create a campaign that talked about all the sustainable measures IKEA was taking?

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.

To change people’s perception of IKEA furniture as disposable, we made The Trash Collection 2021.

The whole campaign was based on a simple concept; showing IKEA trash that didn't need to end up in the trash. We went out and found actual IKEA products abandoned on the street, thrown at the dump and left behind at the beach. We then collected it, gave it a wash and few spare parts, and sold it as a new collection back at IKEA.

The collection was heroed in a brutally honest 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.

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.

By exposing what stood in our way of becoming a more sustainable brand, we were able to change people's behaviour and keep our furniture where it belongs - out of the trash.