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Sure there is a point in getting second-hand furniture/clothing/electronics/whatever, even though these things can be had new from IKEA/department stores/China/anywhere for a pittance. The reasons are multifold, actually. You can find things second-hand which are hard or impossible to find new. You can often get higher-quality material second-hand - after all it has already spent a lifetime in someone elses care and still survives to be resold. Second-hand is often still cheaper and the proceeds generally go to some 'good cause' (which you might, or might not agree with so it makes sense to investigate this before giving a charity your business just like it makes sense to do the same before giving any business your money). Reuse is better than recycle is better than landfill. The second-hand store is probably closer to your home than the IKEA, certainly closer than China. When it comes to electronics you can generally get 'professional' grade material for 'consumer' prices.

In other words it is your own actions which will decide whether the presence of IKEA (et al) is detrimental, neutral or beneficial. It can be beneficial due to the economy of scale made possible by their concept but they do have a number of 'throwaway' products which can be seen as wasteful, although many of those products are made of recycled (fibreboard) or rest materials (hardboard) so the waste is more related to manufacturing, transport and disposal. The solution is just not to buy those products - or repair/reinforce them when they get damaged.




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