Used furniture is about to become a $16.6 billion business. Even Ikea is getting in on it
Okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve bought furniture on impulse or out of desperation without thinking about its environmental impact. That rickety $150 Ikea bed I used for only two years in grad school. The $99 Target bar cart I picked up while shopping for a party. The $75 Wayfair lamp that completed my living room.
I’m not alone. Since the 1990s, the American market has been awash with inexpensive home goods made in low-wage overseas factories, designed to last only a few years. This affordable furniture makes it possible to redecorate regularly and live itinerant lives, since we can toss everything out with each move. But the convenience comes at a great environmental cost. Making and shipping a single piece of furniture emits an estimated 90 kilograms of carbon, the equivalent of flying a Boeing 747 for an hour. And Americans throw out 12 million tons of furniture annually, up from 2 million in 1960, which clogs our landfills and wastes the wood, metal, and plastic required to create it.
[Photo: Laurey Glenn/courtesy Chairish]The good news is that a growing number of companies are now making it easy to buy and sell used furniture, allowing consumers to reduce the environmental footprint of furnishing their homes. Startups such as Chairish, 1stDibs, AptDeco, One King’s Lane, and Apartment Therapy Bazaar have found innovative ways to make online shopping for secondhand furniture fun, with beautifully photographed pieces styled in chic rooms. Meanwhile, the industry giant Ikea along with smaller furniture brands such as Sabai and Floyd have recently launched buyback programs so customers can buy refurbished pieces. Analysts believe these new retail channels will cause the furniture resale industry to hit $16.6 billion in sales by 2025, a 70% increase from 2018.
