LSN : News : A biopolymer sweater knitted from artificial protein

Eyeyah! teaches children to spot fake news

Eyeyah!

Singapore – Eyeyah!, an educational platform that uses design to teach children digital literacy, has launched its latest project focused on fake news.

Featuring bright illustrations and pop culture references, each fake news topic is presented as a magazine-style print publication, social media-based activities and toolkits for teachers to use in classrooms. Challenging children through a combination of genuine and fake headlines, Eyeyah! uses visually driven quizzes to prompt critical thinking.

‘With an increase in clickbait headlines and the speed at which we receive and consume information daily, it is becoming increasingly difficult to spot the real news from the fake. Our quiz is built on a singular message which we believe kids should grasp from as young as primary school – pause to consider before assuming a headline is true or false.’

As children grow up in a digital-first world, deciphering genuine and fake information is seen as an imperative skill. In our Edu-play-tion microtrend, we uncover the ways brands are elevating both digital and analogue learning.

A biopolymer sweater knitted from artificial protein

The Sweater by Goldwin. Photography by Takashi Kawashima, Japan

Japan – Fashion brand Goldwin has collaborated with biomaterial specialist Spiber on a ski-sweater made from 70% wool and 30% artificial protein.

Brewed Protein is a material that Spiber specifically creates using a proprietary fermentation process to derive biomass from artificial protein materials resulting in delicate filament fibres. When this is blended with merino wool and high-grade cashmere it gives the sweater its knitwear aesthetic. Black was deliberately chosen as the colour of the garment to represent the mixing of all colours, as black is viewed as ‘the colour of beginnings’. The piece will be available in 11 countries via an international raffle and will be delivered by Christmas Day.

By producing this biomaterial alternative, the joint venture aims to reduce the fashion industry’s dependency on petrochemicals and animal products. A shared goal for both businesses is to better equip the fashion supply chain with sustainable solutions outside of the current realm.

For more, discover how future textiles will use materials such as algae or fungi to pioneer more circular manufacturing processes.

Felix opens a climate-conscious grocery store

The Climate Store by Felix, Sweden

Sweden – Grocery retailer Felix is tapping into shoppers’ eco-conscious behaviours with the opening of a new store that prices items based on their carbon footprint.

Allowing buyers to understand the environmental impact of their product choices, items in The Climate Store will be bought using carbon equivalents currency (CO2e). To keep track of individual carbon footprints, each customer will be allocated a weekly budget of 18.9kg CO2e. This encourages consumers to choose foods carefully, veering away from options with higher carbon footprints to ensure they stay within budget.

The store represents one element of the brand’s long-term sustainability plan, with future plans to implement clearer product labelling to indicate environmental impacts and increase people’s consumption of plant-based products. ‘It will be exciting to see how customers react to trading with the CO2e currency and see if they manage to stay within their weekly budget,’ says Thomas Sjöberg, marketing manager of Felix.

As we explore in Climate-positive Foods, brands are turning their carbon-offsetting efforts into educational campaigns.

Stat: Millennials want flexible working post-pandemic

Cloud Housing by Lucia Tahan

As Covid-19 continues to make remote working the new normal for many firms, many Millennial employees want their employers to adapt working patterns now and for the future.

According to a study by co-working space Workthere, 87% of UK office employees aged 25–34 expect some input into when and where they work, with 86% preferring a shorter 34-hour working week in comparison to the standard 38 hours. ‘With the younger generations now used to having flexibility in their week, be it when or where they work, it appears this desire for more freedom is a trend that is set to develop further as the UK continues to recover from the pandemic,’ explains Cal Lee, founder of Workthere.

In Reworking the Workplace, we consider how the office and workplace culture is changing during the inter-pandemic period.