IKEA Scraps Black Friday for Green Friday with Sustainability Initiatives

The holidays could always be a little bit greener, and IKEA wants to make it easier this year. Rather than focusing on sales and promotions this Black Friday, IKEA is choosing to draw attention to its sustainability initiatives.

In the distinctive and branded aesthetic of IKEA Assembly Guides, the retailer is launching a series of new 'Green Guides' each featuring a sustainable product that is linked to one of its various sustainability initiatives. Guides include highlighting sustainable seating with chairs made of renewable wood and recycled plastics, the importance of conserving energy with LED holiday lights, and how consumers can shrink their wood waste with reusable storage containers.

“While Black Friday is the biggest day of the year for most retailers, this year is all about sustainability for IKEA so we swapped the traditional hard product sells for lighthearted sustainability suggestions. Leveraging the iconic illustration style of IKEA assembly manuals, we created simple guides to help consumers make this Black Friday and the coming holiday a little greener - with no allen keys required,” said Della Mathew, executive creative director at Ogilvy New York.

These illustrations will be showcased in aggregate across all of IKEA’s owned channels as well as featured by influencers and through a paid social campaign.