Need to Know
20 : 12 : 19

California – A closed-loop village designed to prepare humans for life on Mars is set to open in the Mojave Desert in 2021.

Created by Interstellar Lab, the EBIOS (Experimental Bio-regenerative Station) village will feature a network of biomes built with ‘regenerative life support technologies’. Elements of these buildings will allow researchers to test the possibility of living in this type of system on Mars. Complete with a system for water treatment, waste management and food production, the village and its inhabitants will leave a carbon-neutral footprint, will be zero-waste and will also host a nature preservation. With sustainability at its core, EBIOS will also produce and recycle water, food and energy for up to 100 people. Having collaborated with NASA on the project, Interstellar Lab also plans to analyse human behaviour within the closed environment to plan for how future communities will exist.

As architects and city planners become increasingly aware of the need to be both climate positive and future-proofed in terms of design and functionality, they are innovating the building environment through environmentally friendly alternatives. For more, read our interview with Snöhetta about its energy-positive Norwegian hotel.

UK – Allowing anybody to set up a store and share their favourite beauty looks, MyBeautyBrand is a new platform positioning itself as the antidote to influencers.

The platform allows any individual to set up a store where they can share posts of themselves made up in looks, from natural to dramatic, using MyBeautyBrand cosmetics, They can then earn commission from customers who are inspired by their looks and choose to buy through their ‘shop front’. Featuring eye paints, lipstick and nail varnishes, the brand's debut By Me range was launched on the premise of influencer fatigue, with co-founder Robin Derrick keen to offer a beauty space for people who wouldn’t normally have exposure or be seen as influential. ‘Self-expression and freedom through communication and social media have quickly become top-down, whether that’s brands or influencers paid by brands. It’s lost its way,’ says Derrick.

As we explore in our Community Commerce macrotrend, consumers are looking for alternative ways to access and exchange products and services online, and are increasingly influenced by their peers over celebrities or brand ambassadors.

US – Amid increasing global awareness of the large-scale impact of the climate emergency, Americans in particular are considering the potential effects at a more local level.

According to a recent Pew Research study, 62% of US citizens believe that climate change is affecting their local community 'either a great deal or some'. Among this group, 79% described unusually hot weather as a major local impact of climate change. In addition, participants considered major effects to include floods and intense storms (70%), harm to animal wildlife and their habitats (69%), damage to forests and plant life (67%) or droughts and water shortages (64%). These environmental concerns were also found to vary by state, with Americans in Pacific states most likely to see at least some local impact (72%) compared to 52% of people in mountain states.

As people become more concerned about the state of the environment they live in, they’re looking to brands to take action and confront the realities of climate change and pollution, as examined in our Smog Life series.