IKEA’s knock on wood

The ubiquitous wooden pallet has been a staple of the shipping industry since the advent of containerization almost 60 years ago, enabling companies to move stacks of goods at one time. 
   While some shippers have incorporated plastic pallets into their supply chains, the cheap wooden skid still dominates as the shipping platform of choice.
   But “wood” and “pallet” together are dirty words in the vocabulary of Swedish retailer IKEA, which has made taking better care of the environment a guiding principle for doing business. This year, the seller of contemporary, ready-to-assemble, flat-pack furniture, will complete the phase out of wood pallets from its logistics network as part of its forest preservation efforts.