There’s a quiet kind of despair that comes with caring. You recycle, refill, and refuse plastic bags, only to find out the brand you trusted most is still packaging your “eco-friendly” shampoo in non-recyclable plastic. In the era of climate anxiety, sustainability sells, but unfortunately, so does greenwashing.
Greenwashing refers to the practice of giving a false impression of environmental responsibility. Companies market themselves as “green” without doing the complex, often expensive, behind-the-scenes work to make real change. It’s a coat of sustainable paint on an otherwise unchanged system. But not everyone is content with cosmetics.
Global furniture brand IKEA has now focused on one of its smallest business elements: the plastic fitting bag. If you’ve ever assembled a BILLY, a PAX, or a KALLAX, you’ve likely encountered the plastic pouch of screws, bolts, and the iconic Allen key. It’s tiny, but it adds up and is multiplied by millions of flatpacks sold globally. So IKEA Components is doing something different. During the 2025 fiscal year, they’ve started replacing those tiny plastic bags with paper-based ones, a move projected to reduce plastic consumption by approximately 1,400 tons annually.
It’s part of a larger “Plastics Out Agenda,” which aims to eliminate virgin plastic from all consumer packaging by 2028. And this isn’t just a lofty ambition; it’s a methodical, well-tested transformation. IKEA has spent years prototyping, experimenting, and figuring out how to make these paper-based bags strong enough to hold heavy metal fittings, without compromising on recyclability.
“This is a significant step in our journey to reduce plastic usage and shift to more renewable materials. We spent several years testing different material solutions before settling on this paper-based bag. This shift will reduce our virgin plastic consumption by up to 1,400 tons annually. It clearly shows how even the smallest change can generate great results,” says Lukas Exner, Production & Distribution Manager at IKEA Components. “The bags are produced in-house using paper made from production waste, allowing us to continue working on phasing out the remaining plastic content.”
By FY25, the paper-based fitting bags will be included with product news like the STOCKHOLM 2025 collection and selectively rolled out across the existing range. Full implementation is expected by 2028, giving time for testing, adaptation, and further material innovation, like phasing out the remaining plastic coating.
“By rethinking every detail of our flatpacks, we’re moving closer to our 2028 goal of eliminating virgin plastic and shifting to packaging made from renewable and recycled materials,” says Maja Kjellberg, Packaging Development Leader. “Paper is widely recycled worldwide, and switching to paper cuts plastic waste while inspiring us to rethink every packaging component to support our transition.”
So why does this matter?
Because small things add up, especially when done by a global giant like IKEA. Replacing billions of plastic bags with recyclable paper reduces microplastic leakage, shrinks dependence on fossil fuels, lessens the load in landfills, and encourages other companies to follow suit with real, measurable action instead of PR puffery.
Perhaps most importantly, it restores a bit of trust. Green claims often come wrapped in contradiction, and IKEA’s paper bags remind us that sustainability isn’t about slogans, it’s about systems. And when the systems shift, the world follows.
