Europe's last ancient forests being cut down for IKEA furniture, report shows

Companies producing furniture for the Swedish multinational homeware brand IKEA are sourcing wood from some of Europe's last remaining old-growth forests in Romania, an investigation published by Greenpeace on Wednesday has revealed.

The investigation found that seven manufacturers producing IKEA's most popular products, such as Ingolf chairs or Sniglar baby cribs and beds for children, are linked to the destruction of high-conservation value forests.

"Our nature heritage cannot be turned into pieces of furniture," said Robert Cyglicki, Biodiversity Campaign Director at Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe.

Specifically, ecologically valuable primaeval forests in the Romanian Carpathians – including in Natura 2000 protected areas – have been impacted. These are some of the last vast forests in Europe that have hardly been touched by humans.

"Old forests are vital to the planet’s health and must be protected immediately," Cyglicki said. "IKEA must live up to its own sustainability commitments and clean up its supply chain from old-growth forest destruction."

At least 30 products from these suppliers were found in IKEA stores in Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Israel, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. A similar investigation by Begium's national broadcaster RTBF highlighted commercial malfeasance by IKEA, which it found engaged in deforestation and harmful "fast furniture" activities.