My new housemates and I went to IKEA yesterday to do some furniture and nick-nack shopping (oh… yeah, I moved last Saturday, and don't have internet access yet, which explains why I've been slack in replying to emails!). I quickly noticed on each lamp a tag promoting the use of energy-efficient fluorescent light-bulbs:
There's an entire area in the "market" section devoted to the bulbs and their various incarnations, along with information on why they're better than incandescent light bulbs (in both environmental and economic terms):
It's great to see IKEA being progressive in this area. It'd be nice to see some hints and tips about saving energy (and the environment) by turning off lights. They could even go a step further and provide the customer with information on the environmental impact of each product ("x amount of energy went into making this shelf and its components, y kilograms of CO2″, etc). Efforts like that may encourage increasingly environmentally-aware consumers about the consequences of their purchasing habits!
Well Jem,
Its good to see you have your eyes out for green companies, but sorry to burst your bubble - it is merely a marketing ploy to appeal to green-conscious citizens like yourself - its the wonderful world of globalisation’s ability to cater to local cultures and tastes. Step into any Ikea store here in Singapore and see items wrapped in plastic, inside plastic and no such mention of ‘Green Energy’ or ‘Saving the Planet’. Why? Because, to be honest, Singaporeans don’t give a shit.
It’s a sad reality, but one of the major things I have noticed about how far behind Singapore is (and perhaps the greater asian world is) in terms of conserving energy.
I’m sure the IKEA stores in different countries are operated differently, so it’s no surprise that they differ somewhat. Why do you reckon Singaporeans “don’t give a shit”? Does the government, business or NGOs push green/environmentally-friendly policies and products?
Perhaps your contribution to this is to convince your employer (since it’s a large corporation) to produce and promote green and environmentally-friendly products in the Asian market.
Hi Jeremy
I was looking for some of the stuff regarding IKEA for my organizational behaviour report assignment. i got your page and it is interesting to read it. well just to update, i had been recently to IKEA for a job interview and to my surprise, it is not only the energy conservation they are attempting to market but also the recyclelable or disposable type lamps which use paper cover paper cover for products too making a more eco-friendly organization. i am from a hill state of India call MANIPUR where we avoid plastics and use the old news paper bag, where buyer and seller are fined heavy penalty for using plastic bags. so your topis was of great interest to me personally and academically.i expext to read more from you in future.have a look at this website “www.greenpeace.org “.
thank you again
cheers
raj