"It’s a great decision to destroy old used things" - so you're just assuming they're not going to re-sell them like the article stated that they would? Isn't it more reasonable to wait and see what they actually do with them before criticising them?
"Used old IKEA furniture was made from wood and had some level of quality." - They still make furniture out of solid wood. I just bought some nicer solid wood bookshelves from them. You have to pay a bit more, but that should go without saying. You're probably not paying more than what you would have payed back in the day when taking inflation into account.
I wouldn't presume what's more sustainable in the culture we have today. Making something out of solid wood, and having it thrown away after 20 years because it wasn't fashionable, or wasn't taken care of properly, could easily be way worse than making something out of veneer, wood fiber and cardboard if it's used for at least 10 years.
"Current new things there are made from paper!!!" - Yeah, some things are. So what? In my experience they're still engineered to do the job they need to do for as long as you need it to. I know there's cardboard core in a coffee table and some wall shelves I have. I've taken the shelf down and up several times without issues, and pushed it quite hard to test it, since I knew my kids might try to pull on it.. it was just fine. Kids have been jumping on the coffee table without problems. If you can get sufficient strength with less materials, why not? You have to be DAMN sure that the table will be used for 50+ years if you're going to make it out of a more resource intensive solid hard-wood.
"New IKEA things can’t be moved, because assembling and disassembling them does not work anymore. " - Uh, I just disassembled and reassembled a not very old cabinet made of wood fiber from IKEA. It was fine.
The article stated that the furniture should be returned without disassembling it. At my local IKEA I can rent a van for just 3 hours for a very low price, that should fit a couple of bookshelves without disassembling them.
I don't think the idea that we should make everything out of solid wood and have it last for 100 years is actually sustainable today. We're resource-constrained today, making everything out of solid wood would put a huge strain on the environment at a time where it's already under extreme pressure. The population in western countries is already starting to decline, so I don't see the point of sacrificing the environment today to reduce resource consumption in 50+ years. I don't think it's likely that solid wood furniture will be exported to Africa and South-East Asia where there will be population growth in the coming decades either.
It's worth emphasizing that issues with deforestation are primarily related either to using wood for fuel or land-use changes (replacing forests with soybean farms or palm oil). Using wood for paper pulp or construction is extremely manageable, and in terms of the latter, it's probably the most environmentally friendly construction material.
"Used old IKEA furniture was made from wood and had some level of quality." - They still make furniture out of solid wood. I just bought some nicer solid wood bookshelves from them. You have to pay a bit more, but that should go without saying. You're probably not paying more than what you would have payed back in the day when taking inflation into account.
I wouldn't presume what's more sustainable in the culture we have today. Making something out of solid wood, and having it thrown away after 20 years because it wasn't fashionable, or wasn't taken care of properly, could easily be way worse than making something out of veneer, wood fiber and cardboard if it's used for at least 10 years.
"Current new things there are made from paper!!!" - Yeah, some things are. So what? In my experience they're still engineered to do the job they need to do for as long as you need it to. I know there's cardboard core in a coffee table and some wall shelves I have. I've taken the shelf down and up several times without issues, and pushed it quite hard to test it, since I knew my kids might try to pull on it.. it was just fine. Kids have been jumping on the coffee table without problems. If you can get sufficient strength with less materials, why not? You have to be DAMN sure that the table will be used for 50+ years if you're going to make it out of a more resource intensive solid hard-wood.
"New IKEA things can’t be moved, because assembling and disassembling them does not work anymore. " - Uh, I just disassembled and reassembled a not very old cabinet made of wood fiber from IKEA. It was fine.
The article stated that the furniture should be returned without disassembling it. At my local IKEA I can rent a van for just 3 hours for a very low price, that should fit a couple of bookshelves without disassembling them.
I don't think the idea that we should make everything out of solid wood and have it last for 100 years is actually sustainable today. We're resource-constrained today, making everything out of solid wood would put a huge strain on the environment at a time where it's already under extreme pressure. The population in western countries is already starting to decline, so I don't see the point of sacrificing the environment today to reduce resource consumption in 50+ years. I don't think it's likely that solid wood furniture will be exported to Africa and South-East Asia where there will be population growth in the coming decades either.