Cotton is one of our most important raw materials. It is found in many of our products - from sofas and pillows to sheets and mattresses. Even though we love cotton, we realize that conventional cotton cultivation is often harmful to both the environment and the growers. Therefore, we have decided to use only cotton that is grown responsibly.
Since 2015, all cotton used in IKEA's products comes from more sustainable sources. This means that the cotton is either recycled or grown with less water and a smaller amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
We are proud to use only 100 percent more durable cotton , but we are not satisfied. In the future, we want to reduce our use of cotton and instead use more recycled cotton. In addition, we work to find new innovative materials. But we will not stop using cotton completely, so we are also working to create a positive change in the entire cotton industry.
How does cotton affect humans and the planet?
What kind of cotton does IKEA use?
- Conventional cotton cultivation requires a lot of water and toxic chemicals.
- Cotton is a monoculture. This means that with conventional cultivation, there is a very limited biological diversity where the cotton grows.
- High costs for chemicals and irrigation can cause growers to come close to or below the poverty line.
What kind of cotton does IKEA use?
- 17 percent comes from recycled cotton.
- 77 percent comes from cotton grown in the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). Growers in the initiative have implemented methods to use less water, fewer chemicals and pesticides.
- 6 percent come from growers working to become part of the Better Cotton Initiative or other initiatives such as the 'e3 Cotton Program' in the United States.
More than ten years ago, IKEA, WWF and other partners founded the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) to make global cotton production better for the industry, growers and the environment. Today, the initiative is one of the biggest contributing factors to better cotton cultivation worldwide. So far, IKEA is the only global retailer of products where 100 percent of the cotton comes from more sustainable sources. But we want to continue to influence outside our own business. We work to make cotton from more sustainable sources standard - while at the same time being affordable and accessible to everyone. With the help of field teaching, we have helped about 110,000 growers to use more sustainable cultivation methods. This has given growers lower costs, higher profits and better working conditions. The families have a better standard of living and, among other things, the children can now go to school. At the same time as we continue to work in the field, we are now expanding the scope of our cotton projects to also include water, biodiversity and land management.
In conventional cotton cultivation, large amounts of chemicals and water are used. It often creates damage to the environment and leads to a health risk for growers. The more durable cotton that IKEA uses is grown with less water and chemicals, which helps areas that are prone to erosion and water scarcity.
We start from WWF's model for responsible water use. It reduces the environmental impact of both our own operations and those of our suppliers, provides support for sustainable water use in river areas and increases people's access to clean water.
Our work focuses on cotton, where we train growers in better water management and form water user associations in local communities to save water that can instead be used for other purposes.
Our work focuses on cotton, where we train growers in better water management and form water user associations in local communities to save water that can instead be used for other purposes.
Read more about our collaborations and how we work with cotton
Since 1 September 2015, all cotton used in IKEA products comes from more sustainable sources. This means that the cotton is grown with less water and a smaller amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, while the growers get higher profit margins.
