Ikea was accused of cowardice by gay rights activists in Sweden, the retailer’s founding country. Ulrika Westerlund, chair of the Swedish Federation for lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights said: “I find it disappointing that Ikea has simply laid down flat. No one is really sure what ‘propaganda’ is and if Ikea had left the article in, that could have served as a test case.”
In 1994, Ikea became the first company in the world to feature a gay couple in a mainstream television commercial. But the company, once a symbol of progressive Scandinavian values, has recently appeared to subjugate its social conscience to protect commercial operations.
