Did you know?

In 2020 more than 20 million tons of new furniture was put on the EU and US market - a number which has almost doubled itself over the last decades, and is still growing by the day. 

If we were to keep those furniture for 20 something years (as we used to do), it wouldn't be a huge problem. But the thing is that each year, 20 million tons is also being thrown away, a lot of it fully functional. And since furniture is assembled from a number of different materials that cannot be recycled together, the majority is ending up as landfill. This new way of consuming interior is referred to as “fast furniture” and obviously comes with a heavy environmental price. Not only is landfill polluting our planet, but each new sofa for example has an average carbon footprint of about 90kg. Needless to say, this is not what our planet needs. 

So what can we do when we’re in need of new vibes in our home? 

The good news is that there are alternatives, some greener than others, and new ways to get home decor upgrades at a lower cost.  Hacking, re-designing, and upcycling a pre-loved bargain or using an existing furniture piece you already got at home, are all great alternatives! Not only will you end up with creating a totally unique piece for your space.  In addition, the satisfaction you get from actually creating something yourself, and at the same time making a minimal impact on the planet is adding to that positive feeling.

Love your (IKEA) furniture longer!

At Prettypegs, our mission is to change the way people consume (IKEA) furniture and interior design. We’ve tracked great results in inspiring our customers to invest more love into their existing furniture with a set of unique legs, some paint or cute knobs. Our studies show that hacking leads to a life extension, i.e. people tend to hold on to their furniture for a estimately 20% longer time period. Hacking leads to emotional engagement, and once being more emotionally engaged, people more likely take care of the pieces, and are more likely to sell it second hand or gift their furniture when replacing it. These are all positive side effects, leading to less furniture ending up as landfill.

In 2019 - Prettypegs products extended the life time of approx. 19 000 IKEA furniture pieces. The production of one furniture piece consumes approx. 47kg CO2 (FIRA 2012). The average lifetime of an IKEA furniture piece is said to be 10 years, which means that PP’s consumers saved the planet from estimately 179 tons of CO2 tons emissions in 2017. It corresponds to a total of what approx. 32 000 cars emit on a daily basis. 

We’re still learning

We are proud of the fact that we are inspiring people to consume interior design in a more sustainable way. Also proud of the fact that all our wooden products are made from European FSC certified wood, and that our knobs are made from 100% recycled waste wood. Furthermore, 95% of our products are produced in Europe where the majority of our customers are located, and we are doing our best to keep transports as efficient as possible. 

That being said, our work, trying to become even more sustainable is a continuous journey with no end. And just like any other company, we are having lots of more challenges to overcome.

Until 2025,  it’s our goal to; 

- Have 100% of our suppliers based in Europe. 

- Streamline our shipping method further, ensuring we are using the most C02 efficient shipping options available.. 

- Increase the number of products that are made from recycled materials. 

- Launch an online Prettypegs Second hand shop where our customers can sell and buy pre-loved pegs and other second hand furniture.

- Last but not least, it’s our goal to encourage a total of 500 000 upcycled furniture pieces until year 2025. This would mean a saved amount of 4 700 tons of CO2, which is an equivalent of what 816 000 cars emits on one day (FIRA 2012). 

So, let’s turn “fast furniture” into “slow furniture”, together!

Check out some of our favorite IKEA-hacks here