In Paris, IKEA furniture now delivered by boat via the Seine river

"We're offering your packages a cruise!" That's the text plastered on the sides of large, white, IKEA-branded crates that now float down the Seine on river barges.

Starting this month, IKEA is using the French river to transport home goods from its warehouse in Gennnevilliers, 9 km northwest of Paris, down to customers in the capital city. Once they've arrived in Paris, crates are loaded onto electric vehicles for last-mile delivery.

By using the river instead of roads, IKEA expects to be able to offer more home delivery slots for customers in Paris. And — benefiting everyone — it's estimated that the solution will result in CO2 emissions up to five times lower than road delivery and 300,000 fewer kilometers driven on the streets of Paris.