IKEA as bad as Wal-Mart?

“…certain Swedes have plenty to answer for: …IKEA products — from bookshelves to tables to lamps — are very nicely designed. And the ingenuity of designing furniture so that it can be shipped efficiently, compactly and cheaply, with an eye toward environmental concerns, is admirable. But Shell also points out the hypocrisy inherent in IKEA’s philosophy. As a clever IKEA commercial, directed by Spike Jonze, points out, an old lamp (or bookcase or table) doesn’t have feelings; any piece of furniture can and should be replaced at any time. The ad, and the whole IKEA approach, suggests that objects have no lasting meaning or value. They’re disposable; when we tire of them, we should just throw them out. Then why, Shell asks, does IKEA personify its products by naming them, à la the Lack coffee table or the Kura loft bed? “If IKEA thinks it’s crazy to care deeply about objects, why… “does it sell a wok named after a girl.” Ikea as bad as Wal-Mart

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