If you've ever visited an IKEA store, you're likely familiar with the small pencils scattered around for customers to use while shopping.
These pencils are offered in dispensers and are intended to help you jot down notes, item numbers, or measurements as you navigate through the store.
You may have — or at least been tempted to — slip one or two into your pocket on your way out. But is that allowed?
According to IKEA, customers who take the pencils home don't need to feel guilty.
Claudia Seibert, an IKEA spokesperson, explains, "These items are intended to be taken away immediately and are therefore not collected and reused by us."
In other words, IKEA knows that customers often take the pencils with them and is okay with it.
Sven Kleuter, another company spokesperson, elaborates that while IKEA is generally fine with customers taking a pencil or two, there is a limit to this leniency.
"If someone were to take 100 pencils, we would speak to the customer," Kleuter notes, adding that IKEA isn’t keeping a strict watch on this behavior. Employees don’t collect or reuse the pencils, so they’re not concerned if customers take a few home.
Environmental Considerations
If you're environmentally conscious, you might wonder whether you should return the pencils or leave them behind if unused.
Seibert clarifies that any pencils left around the store typically end up in the trash, so returning them doesn’t have much impact.
To minimize waste, you can consider taking only the pencils you've already used and leaving the fresh ones for others.
But in any case, IKEA’s policy means you don’t need to feel bad about taking a pencil or two home with you.
