IKEA Launches Glorious Rainbow Shopping Bag for Pride Month

By
Melissa Breyer
Melissa Breyer
Melissa Breyer
Editorial Director
  • Hunter College
  • F.I.T., State University of New York
  • Cornell University
Melissa Breyer is Treehugger’s editorial director. She is a sustainability expert and author whose work has been published by the New York Times and National Geographic, among others.
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Updated May 21, 2019 11:36AM EDT
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© Courtesy of IKEA. Courtesy of IKEA

The limited edition bags will go on sale June 1, all profits will go to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

It is not everyday that you will come to TreeHugger and find us swooning over a new polypropylene bag. In fact, "new polypropylene bag" would generally be considered bad words around here, given our disdain for plastic. But I cannot help but make an exception for the iconic IKEA workhorse – and especially when it is coming in a limited edition run to celebrate a good cause.

The original blue FRAKTA bag debuted in 1996 and has proven its worth far, far beyond bringing home the meatballs and lingonberry preserves. As I noted in 20 new uses for IKEA shopping bags:

The polypropylene jack of all trades has a 19-gallon capacity and can carry up to 55 pounds without ripping. It is rated for 1000 trips; meaning that if you use it once a week for your groceries, it would last nearly 20 years!

A few IKEA bags and you won't need another single-use plastic or paper shopping bag for a few decades – not bad. And as the title of that post suggests, there are SO many uses beyond carrying things!

The new happy-stripey rainbow version is called the KVANTING, and will be available at IKEA U.S. stores for $3.99. One hundred percent of the profits will go to support the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's (HRCF) children, youth and families programs. HRCF is the educational branch of the nation’s largest civil rights organization working to for LGBT+ equality.

“We are excited to partner with the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for Pride Month,” says Rafael Fantauzzi, IKEA U.S. Diversity & Inclusion Manager. “At IKEA, our culture is centered on the value of togetherness. We believe equality is a fundamental human right and that all homes are created equal. We know everyone deserves a home you absolutely love and a workplace where you can be yourself.”

And I am excited to add a human-rights supporting rainbow bag to my little collection of blue polypropylene workhorses. I'll never need a single-use bag again, and that's a bright and happy thought.

KVANTING will be available starting June 1, until supplies last.