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When we looked at the "leather furniture" sections of Ikea's Australian websites recently, more than a few turned out to be made from distinctly non-bovine stuff like polyester and polyurethane.
The giveaway is in the fine print on the "product information" tab on the websites, with one model described as "durable coated fabric that has the same look and feel as leather".
IKEA Shonky 2015
Not quite the same thing, we say, and we think most cattle would agree.
That's why we're awarding Ikea's leather-that's-not-leather a genuine Shonky.
What a hide!
In a win for confused furniture shoppers, furniture retailer Ikea has now updated its Australian website for leather couches.
The iconic Swedish furniture store received a 2015 Shonky Award for having the 'hide' to list sofas and furniture covered in a leather-look "durable coated fabric" under the leather couches section of the store's website.
Prior to receiving the Shonky, Ikea got our attention when we were covering the difficulties Australian consumers can encounter when looking to buy a couch upholstered in leather (read Buying a leather couch for more on what to look out for). We found that as there's no formal certification scheme in Australia, the onus is on the consumer to dig deep into product descriptions to find out exactly what a couch is covered with.
The Ikea site was particularly confusing as all couches upholstered in a leather-look fabric as well as couches where only the 'contact areas' are covered in leather were all listed together under leather couches.
The updated Ikea website now lists clearly which couches are fully upholstered in leather, which have the contact areas covered in leather, and which are covered in the coated fabric – which means there's no more guesswork required.
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