BACKIG Side plate, black, 18x18 cm

Setting the table with reused glass

"Using more sustainable materials in all our products is something that we strive for," says Nanette Weisdal, who works with sustainability at IKEA. "It's in the IKEA DNA." This has brought us products made of reused materials, like BACKIG glassware.

In glass production, scrap is inevitable. The trick is to make use of it. "Sometimes material is cut off to create a finished product, and sometimes it breaks or has something wrong with it—like a bubble or a defect—so it's rejected," says Daniel Stjernqvist, an engineer who’s specialized in glass for many years. "This is then crushed and goes back into the furnace again to melt."

Less expensive than stoneware

Clear glass can be reused to make clear glass, but the dusky deep purple tint of BACKIG is characteristic of when different coloured glass is melted together and reused to make something new. The result is often called black glass. "Black glass is less expensive to produce than black stoneware," says Daniel. "So we could offer an alternative to customers and lower the price."

Strict standards for food contact

But even more important is securing safety. The glass scraps that make BACKIG never leaves the factory, meaning they come from an environment that we know meets our strict standards and requirements. Since BACKIG comes in contact with food, this is particularly important. "BACKIG is good thinking," says Daniel. "The material is there and it's safe, so we should do something good with it."