
IKEA Gets Deeper into the Woods - fillskills
http://www.wsj.com/articles/ikea-gets-deeper-into-the-woods-1438310691
======
dang
This story was wrongly buried by user flags. I'm guessing this was because of
the WSJ paywall. This is not a legitimate use of flagging on HN.

Academic journals that are truly locked down are one thing, but nearly every
media paywall has a standard workaround. This is the case with NYT, Economist,
New Yorker, WSJ, and other sources. fillskills was entirely right to post this
article, which is interesting and on topic.

It's fine to help other users get to read the article. It's not fine to take
threads off-topic by complaining about paywalls.

When I have time, I'm going to update the FAQ about this, but anyone who wants
to can read through the many previous discussions we've had about it [1]. As
far as I'm concerned the question is settled: we're not going to impoverish HN
by banning sources of good stories that are readable by everyone with known
workarounds. Good stories are scarce enough as it is.

1\.
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=by:dang%20paywall&sort=byDate&...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=by:dang%20paywall&sort=byDate&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=comment)

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4ndr3vv
Around the paywall [https://archive.is/qRnWv](https://archive.is/qRnWv)

~~~
onre
Off-topic but slightly interesting:

Apparently archive.is blocks Finnish IP addresses. Additionally, my ISP does
not even resolve an A record for archive.is. No idea why.

~~~
kiiski
Wikipedia has this[1] (sourced [2]):

> On July 21, 2015, the operators blocked access to the service from all
> Finnish IP addresses, stating on Twitter they did this in order to avoid
> escalating a dispute they allegedly had with the Finnish government, that
> they refused to provide additional information on.

[1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archive.is#Worldwide_availabil...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archive.is#Worldwide_availability)

[2]:
[https://twitter.com/archiveis/status/623524336184524800](https://twitter.com/archiveis/status/623524336184524800)

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jessaustin
My impression is that IKEA products already use a bare minimum of wood. If
they make things even thinner, there won't be much reason to shop there
instead of just buying the cardboard stuff at Wal-Mart.

~~~
blackbeard
I've stopped buying IKEA products for this reason. They are never durable. The
unit surfaces get pitted and discoloured easily and things warp over time.
It's crap basically. I have to replace it all every 4-5 years.

The last cycle I threw some cash at some quality solid wood products. They're
a better investment.

~~~
Brakenshire
I've had quite a lot of good furniture from there, which has lasted more than
a decade. I think they carry crap and they carry things which are well made
and well designed.

There does recently seem to be more crap, though. I tried to buy a floor lamp
from there a couple of months ago, and they seemed to be basically not
charging enough to be able to make their designs to a decent standard. If
you're going to make a floor lamp for £30-40, just make it simple, don't put
in a lot of hinges which aren't properly secured or balanced, or snake-like
fittings which make loud groaning noises every time they are moved. Ironically
I got something less ambitious and better designed from the local anonymous
hardware store. Disappointing to see a company like IKEA which is supposed to
be all about thought-out industrial design making mistakes like that.

~~~
blackbeard
Yes definitely. I have a floor lamp from them as well and the metal was so
thin it folded the first time it was moved so now it's a metal and duct tape
lamp :)

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simi_
As a Romanian, I'm livid. We've had huge problems with illegal deforestation
in the last couple of decades.

[https://www.google.com/search?q=romania+deforestation](https://www.google.com/search?q=romania+deforestation)

~~~
tim333
Ikea say "operating forests would help it secure long-term access to
sustainably managed wood." ie. replanting and harvesting, not deforesting.

~~~
simi_
I'm not entirely skeptical of how ethical their exploitation will be
conducted, I'm just raising the point that we're a country with heavily
affected (ex-)forests. Moreover, there's a rich recent history of external
interests being facilitated by our ultra-corrupt government, to rather
devastating effects.

------
SixSigma
Vertical integration is so passé. Now you've got two problems, you'll end up
competing with your other wood suppliersor supply your furniture competitors.
Using the profit from your core business to prop up the weak one; whichever
way round that ends up being.

The world just spent the last decade de-integrating.

~~~
GFischer
I would agree with you if it were a smaller company, but at IKEA's volume, it
does make sense.

Also, it's "mainstream" again, with Apple as the trendsetter.

[http://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Vertical-
Integration-2...](http://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Vertical-
Integration-2-0-An-Old-Strategy-Makes-a-Comeback?gko=41fe1)

[http://business.time.com/2012/03/16/how-apple-made-
vertical-...](http://business.time.com/2012/03/16/how-apple-made-vertical-
integration-hot-again-too-hot-maybe/)

~~~
toomuchtodo
Delta Airlines owns a refinery, Tesla is building their own Battery factory;
Vertical integration is alive and well.

