'Tis the season for... manic spending, shopping frenzy and over-consumption.

Black Friday is approaching, an American concept that is well and truly established here in Ireland too at this stage, and known to be one of the busiest shopping events of the year. Between picking up bargains and bits for yourself, many are also trying to get the Christmas shopping done too, and love feeling like they are getting a bargain doing it now rather than later. However, IKEA wants to encourage us all to be more mindful of our consumption and shopping this season – and so instead of Black Friday, the Swedish furniture giant is going for Green. Opting out of a more traditional Black Friday offering, IKEA announced earlier this week they will instead offer IKEA Family members a buy-back and resell offer. What this means, is that during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year, IKEA is taking a stand against excessive consumption, in order to make living more sustainably – and we applaud them for it.

Green Friday at IKEA – what does it mean?

Between Friday 19^th November and Monday 29^th November, IKEA Family members selling back items through the buy-back and resell scheme will have an additional 20 percent added to their IKEA refund card to spend in store. Note that items customers wish to bring back into store must be registered between Friday 19^th and Monday 29^th November, using the estimator tool, and returned to the store within 30 days of receiving a quote. As with all IKEA refund cards, there will be no expiry date in order to encourage customers to purchase items only when they’re really needed. Depending on the condition of the furniture traded in, the voucher could be worth as much as 70% of the original price with this exclusive ‘Green’ Friday offer. All buy-back and resell items will be resold as second-hand in the circular hubs (previously known as Bargain Corner). Anything that cannot be resold will be recycled. Products eligible for Buy Back include IKEA dressers; office drawer cabinets, small structures with drawers, display storage and sideboards, bookcases and shelf units, small tables, multimedia furniture, cabinets, dining tables and desks, chairs and stools without upholstery, chests of drawers and children's products purchased in the last seven years. Products that are not currently accepted are beds or any textiles, upholstered or leather products or baby furniture items. You can check here to view the full category list of items. “During the busiest shopping period of the year, of course, we want to offer our customers a discount which they can use and benefit from, says IKEA Ballymun Store Manager, Martyn Allan. "However it’s important that we consume thoughtfully all year round. We are happy to be boosting buy back gift card vouchers by 20% so that customers can invest this discount into something they really need, either now or at a later date.”   The “Green” Friday buy back and resell offer will run from 19th November to 29th November 2021 and customers will be able to redeem their IKEA buy-back vouchers at any time, as vouchers have no expiry dates. The offer builds on IKEA’s long-standing commitment to take climate action, based on Science-Based Targets, that support its commitments to become climate positive by 2030* and reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050.