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Swedish home furnishing company IKEA has announced the launch of Made in India rice-straw based collection, FÖRÄNDRING.
FÖRÄNDRING is a collection of sustainable products created from rice straw, a residue of rice production that is traditionally burnt and contributes heavily to air pollution in North India.
This ‘Made in India’ collection of sustainable products includes rugs, lamp shades and other decorative items. With FÖRÄNDRING, IKEA has made a small step towards contributing to better air.
These products will be globally available across countries like Spain, Germany, etc.
In 2018, IKEA launched the ‘Better Air Now’ initiative with the aim to take action on a global environmental issue by turning rice straws into raw material.
FÖRÄNDRING means ‘change’ in Swedish and illustrates the desire to contribute to positive change. It implies changing current habits (increased pollution by the burning of rice straw) as well as a change for good the of many people ( contributing to better air).
Sustainable practices
“Sustainability is integrated into the way we do business. FÖRÄNDRING is a special collection and is a small contribution from IKEA to cleaner air and to support farmers to practice more sustainable farming. We will bring more of such initiatives and hope that they can be replicated other companies as well to create bigger a positive impact for our planet,” said, Preet Dhupar, Chief Finance Officer and Sustainability Lead, IKEA India.
The colours in this collection shift from dark to light blue, alluding to the present grim situation with smog and air pollution, as well as the hopes for a more optimistic future with crisp and clear blue skies. The collection includes nine items including rugs, table runners, pendant lamp shades as well as decorative items such as storage boxes and baskets.
They are handmade by skilled artisans from Northern India and the material is based on leftover rice straw, giving each product a unique shape and look.
IKEA is exploring different options of how to make use of rice straw in the value chain. Apart from raw material for products in the collection, IKEA is looking into using it for packaging material and/or bioenergy. For now, FÖRÄNDRING is available only in Hyderabad. One can buy it from the IKEA store or order it online.
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