How Cheap ‘Fast Furniture’ Could Soon Clog Landfills - The New York Times:

Ikea of Sweden said in a statement that “life span estimation may vary” for its furniture, and customers are encouraged to repair, resell or return products they can no longer use. Wayfair said through a spokesperson that “we sell an extensive range of furniture products across all styles and price points,” adding that some are meant to “last for generations as well as furniture that meets customer needs for affordability.”

I love how outlets like the Times quote stuff like this as though it were a real response to their inquiries.

These statements are completely devoid of any actual meaning, by intent. Whatever poor intern was stuck with the task of monitoring the info@ikea.com inbox or the voicemail for the 800 number buried somewhere on Wayfair’s website forwarded the message along and then it made its way to ten different people so that Marketing and Legal could copy and paste boilerplate language into a template.

The words themselves mean nothing, and the Times ought to say that.