IKEA drops plastic bags...

If you know anything about me you know that I just love to spend Sunday afternoons shopping with the family at Ikea. Maybe it's the smell of the Swedish meatballs samples mixed with the scent of recently varnished, functional Scandinavian furniture that gets me going. Maybe it's my wife laughing at my choice of color for new curtains. Or maybe it's standing in line for the bathroom for 20 minutes behind a 300 pound man with the perfect Ramberg bedside table under his arm.

And now that utopia of affordable solutions to my living space brings me the exciting news that starting October 1, 2008 Ikea will no longer be offering plastic bags to its customers. This is a grand and noble step in the great war to save the environment. So when I drive to Ikea in my SUV after stopping at McDonald's I shall feel no guilt because I know that my carbon footprint will be that much smaller because I'm using Ikea reusable bags to transport home a piece of furniture that was shipped to the store via an "environmentally friendly" container ship and tractor trailer.

If they really wanted to help reduce CO2 emissions maybe they should stop using wood. Bags don't kill the planet people do. If I don't have a bag how am I supposed to carry home all of those tepid Swedish meatballs? In my hands? I think not!

Ikea is suggesting that people bring their own bags or boxes or buy one of their reusable bags. Which is great but have you ever tried to assemble an Ikea bag? I once spent two days trying to insert tab B into slot C and I still had three extra parts left over... Then I noticed the label inside the big blue bag that said, "Made in China?" Not only am I doing my part to save the planet, I'm also helping to employ political prisoners in China! And I have the added bonus of letting my kid lick the lead paint off the bag and watch with delight as he stumbles around the room.

So thank you Ikea for helping us to see the light (the metaphorical light, not an actual burning light because THAT light would just add to the carbon footprint).

Stay green my friends, stay green. - Paul

Fri, 04/18/2008 - 2:38pm

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