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A source of cheap, flat-packed products to suit every taste, Ikea revolutionised the way furniture is made, and forever changed the way we furnish our homes.
But the Swedish giant’s ‘fast furniture’ model has long put enormous pressure on forests globally. Ikea is the largest buyer of wood and the largest retailer of wood furniture on the planet.
Over 18 months, Channel 4 TV alleged Earthsight had gone on the trail to investigate Ikea’s Ukrainian timber purchases. Using official files, on-the-ground reporting, satellite imagery and whistleblower accounts, Earthsight researchers are said to have followed supplies of suspect wood from Ukraine’s precious Carpathian forests to Ikea stores in the UK, US, Germany and elsewhere.
Flatpacked Forests: Ikea's illegal timber problem and the flawed green label behind it, a report released yesterday evening, has alledgedly uncovered how the Carpathian Mountains, home to some of Europe’s last remaining lynx and brown bears, are being illegally deforested by firms supplying timber for many of Ikea’s best-selling chairs and cheap furniture.
The Earthsight report details how Ikea has allegedly failed to prevent illegal, unsustainable wood being used for its products. Behind this failure is the Forest Stewardship Council, the world’s largest green label for wood.
Source and Report : earthsight.org.uk ... Chanel 4 TV news
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