‘The retail industry must make circularity first choice for furniture’

Furniture is a dynamic industry, with designers, manufacturers and retailers constantly innovating in terms of style, utility and customer experience.

But with a staggering 22 million furniture items dumped every year in the UK, we know we need to look closely at the reasons for this – for example, by looking closely at infrastructure and innovation and, crucially, making it easier for people to buy and sell pre-loved furniture.

The change needs to be led by players with the scale to drive real transformation. That’s why eBay has partnered with Wrap to launch the Circular Change Council.

We’ve already been joined by some of the country’s leading brands, including Ikea UK and Ireland, George at Asda, Very, Sainsbury’s, Simba, Dunelm, the British Retail Consortium and the British Heart Foundation, all of whom share a collective ambition to increase circularity and help reduce furniture waste.

“As an industry, there is a chance to increase impact and address wider issues that can only be tackled through collaboration”

Retailers have made positive efforts to reduce the impact of the industry. Examples include Simba’s mattress recycling and refurbishing efforts, and Ikea’s Re-shop and Re-use initiative, which helps customers find pre-loved items.

However, there is recognition that, as an industry, there is a chance to increase impact and address wider issues that can only be tackled through collaboration.

Together, we’ll be prioritising action in three key areas.

Change consumption patterns

At a time when just 20% of home furniture that is discarded is suitable for reuse, we’ll work together to develop solutions that tackle the stigma around buying secondhand and demonstrate the value of non-new items.

We know our customers are already demanding this, with searches on eBay for secondhand furniture seeing an over 140% year-on-year increase, with top items being used kitchens, wardrobes, chests of drawers and armchairs.

Make it pay for consumers and business

Research from Wrap estimates that, by purchasing reused home furniture rather than brand-new, UK households could save £2.37bn.

We also know that circularity is good for business. Current returns models cost UK retailers up to £60bn a year.

The consistent theme we’ve been hearing from retailers is that when they do non-new, resale or refurbished furniture it sells really fast.

The consumer appetite is there and, while there are some tricky infrastructure challenges to overcome, we’re excited for the Circular Change Council to look at how we can streamline this to help give more furniture a second, third and fourth life.

Reduce waste

We’re dedicated to putting a halt to needless furniture waste landfill and promoting greater circularity of furniture and its component parts.

This must happen at industry-level. We must work together. This is why we’re so excited to have such impactful brands all in one place with a shared ambition.

We have a watershed opportunity to break down the barriers to circularity in the UK furniture industry. It’s an exciting but substantial challenge, requiring the engagement and resolve of partners across the industry.

We’ve set ambitious goals and are calling on other like-minded brands to join the Circular Change Council as we work to drive behaviour change at scale for a future where non-new and circular options really are the first choice for furniture.