Caring and community with the new global collection VÅRDANDE

Collaborating for impact

The collection is a partnership with five social businesses from Asia that are creating a better everyday life through long-term job opportunities and improved livelihoods for vulnerable groups.   
We joined forces with three of our new social business partners in Southeast Asia to create the collection. The scale of the project allowed these partners, Saitex, Classical Handmade Products and Spun, to grow and secure job opportunities for people in rural areas and marginalised groups, such as people with disabilities. 

The VÅRDANDE collection, meaning ‘caring’ in Swedish, includes a kimono, yoga mats and blankets, a carry basket, soft storage solution, bowls and plant pots.  

“With VÅRDANDE, we want to offer the many people a chance to relax and find inner strength. It contains a range of products to help create small changes with significant impacts – both for themselves and those who made them,” said Lena Sörmon, Business Leader at IKEA Social Entrepreneurship.

Made with care for people and planet

The materials used in the collection, like banana fibres, clay and jute were sourced responsibly from suppliers in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, and India where our partnering social businesses are located.  

Vietnamese denim manufacturer, Saitex, operates four factories in Dong Nai, offering employment and career opportunities to marginalised groups such as women and people with disabilities. Its highly efficient, sustainable factory setup shows that social enterprises need not be small or confined to the handicraft sector. 

“A small enterprise cannot change the world, but you can put your drop into the ocean. And every drop counts. Together we can create a future formula for success that could be replicated in other factories. Imagine what a huge, massive dent we together would create on this matter,” commented Sanjeev Bahl, founder and CEO, Saitex 

Classical Handmade Products in Bangladesh makes sustainable, handwoven and machine woven home furnishing products in the rural north, creating job opportunities for women and people with disabilities. Products such as storage baskets, placemats, bags, poufs, and rugs are made from natural fibre materials like jute, seagrass, water hyacinth and recycled textile waste. Workers are retaining and reviving traditional weaving skills and, instead of having to travel to urban areas for work, they’re able to remain living in their home villages. 

In India, Spun makes skilfully crafted, one-of-a-kind products based on textile waste. The social business engages women to make hand-crafted, sustainably produced textile products. They offer educational programs, environmental and health initiatives, empowering local communities.  

“When these women become fully independent, it brings an amazing effect – better education for their children, better livelihoods for their families, with better self-confidence and respect within their families,” added Dipali Goenka, CEO of Welspun India, parent company of Spun. 

Along with Ramesh Flowers and Doi Tung, the five social businesses created VÅRDANDE in collaboration with IKEA designers Akanksha Deo and Sarah Fager. 

The result was a collection that appeals to the senses, with twenty products that serve as a reminder to take a break, breathe deeply, and create a space for serenity. 

See if VÅRDANDE is available in your region >