Sustainable kitchen fronts

Ikea launched a new kitchen front entirely produced with recycled materials. To realise it has developed with the Italian firm 3B a plastic foil, a brand new material.

IKEA, cucina con frontali Kungsbacka neri, 2017
Each year, billions of PET-bottles are consumed worldwide. Some of them are recycled as material for new products, while the vast majority become waste.
“What we do at IKEA has a big impact on the environment because we work with large quantities. By using recycled materials, we can produce more sustainably. We need to become better at using the planet’s resources in a smart way. Our ambition is to increase the share of recycled materials in our products. We are looking into new ways to re-use materials, such as paper, fibre, foam and plastic, so that we can give them a new life in a new product”, says Anna Granath, product developer at the Swedish company. 

After two years of research a new material has been developed: a plastic foil made from discarded PET-bottles collected by Japanese municipalities, that arrives in Italy as a semifinished product.

“We found a way to transform used PET-bottles into a foil that is laminated on the KUNGSBACKA kitchen fronts. The biggest challenge was to create a foil from recycled material that fulfils the same quality requirements as a foil made of virgin material. We worked hard not to compromise on neither quality nor price. We are planning to use recycled PET-bottles from Europe in a near future.”, says Marco Bergamo, head of development at the Italian manufacturer 3B.

IKEA, cucina con frontali Kungsbacka neri, 2017
IKEA, cucina con frontali Kungsbacka neri, 2017

25 half-liter PET-bottles are needed to cover the black surface of a 40x80 cm KUNGSBACKA kitchen front, and they are guaranted for twentyfive years as all the other IKEA fronts.

Given the enormous quantity of products sold by the Swedish company, a most sustainable approach is important, we hope it will include all the product cicle until the end.

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