Forget peak oil, Ikea says we’ve hit “peak stuff”: It’s curtains for home furnishings says sustainability boss Steve Howard

Someone clearly got Marie Kondo's book for Christmas.

Apparently we've reached "peak stuff", bringing to an and the era of cheap flat pack furniture frustration and a desire for the latest designer cushions, according to – of all people – an executive at furniture giant Ikea.

"If we look on a global basis, in the west we have probably hit peak stuff. We talk about peak oil. I’d say we’ve hit peak red meat, peak sugar, peak stuff … peak home furnishings,” said Ikea's sustainability boss Steve Howard at the Guardian Sustainable Business debate.

That's not contradictory with the Swedish furniture-maker's business plans to double sales by 2020, apparently. 

"We will be increasingly building a circular Ikea where you can repair and recycle products… If you look on a global basis, most people are still poor and most people actually haven’t got to sufficiency yet. There is a global growth opportunity … but it’s a distribution issue,” he said.

It's curtains for home furnishings – Howard himself is using the term "peak curtain". Add that to peak emoji, peak beard and peak cafe as well as perennial talk of peak property.