We didn’t exactly need another reason to shop at Ikea, but nonetheless the brand has given us one. The Swedish retailer announced that it will soon be selling rugs made by Syrian refugees living in Jordan, where 650,000 people fleeing war have taken shelter. The initiative is expected to create 200 jobs for these otherwise underemployed refugees.
“The situation in Syria is a major tragedy of our time, and Jordan has taken a great responsibility in hosting Syrian refugees,” Jesper Brodin, managing director at Ikea, told CNN Money. “We decided to look into how Ikea can contribute.”
This is not Ikea’s first contribution to the refugee crisis. Recently, the company won an award for its design of a flat-pack refugee shelter, which was developed in collaboration with the United Nations and has since been used by thousands of refugees. Last year, the company’s flagship store re-created a Damascus home to raise awareness of the Syrian crisis, and they’ve donated millions of dollars’ worth of renewable energy projects for refugee camps globally. So, while their furniture-building instructions may be anything but, Ikea’s ethos is crystal-clear (and we support it 100%).
