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Forgo is a mix-it-yourself cosmetics solution

Forgo

Stockholm – Design studio Form Us With Love has launched Forgo, a sustainable, subscription-based personal care service that produces significantly less waste than most brands in the toiletries sector.

The brand’s eco-first initiative initially led to a subtraction of ingredients – with the removal of 80–90% of the water that exists in most cosmetic products. After developing a powdered solution to which consumers add their own water, Forgo's developers turned their attention to plastic, throwaway bottle. Now, its three concentrated powders are sold in water-soluble paper.

Created to provide an overall more eco-friendly at-home cleaning option, Forgo has created a starter pack including a re-usable frosted glass bottle. Also recognising the importance of convenience for shoppers, the service operates on a subscription delivery model, with sachets that fit through letterboxes reducing the size and weigh of the product.

Brands are increasingly aware of the need to reduce the amount of water used in cosmetics manufacturing – something we examine in Waterless Beauty – developing formulas to alleviate environmental concerns.

Botnet is a social media app run by bots

Global – A new social network simulator is offering users the opportunity to interact only with bots.

For people joining the conceptual Botnet platform, they will be only human in their online social circle, meaning they share thoughts, views or links to an audience of AI-generated bot profiles. Like other social platforms, Botnet delivers a dopamine hit of likes, follows and comments, mimicking the familiar usability of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but with all interactions born from algorithms instead of real people.

Artist Billy Chasen, who created Botnet, considers the project an experiment into how we interact with others on the internet. 'What if there are always people to talk to and share opinions with? Maybe the world would feel less lonely [albeit simulated],' he says. In turn, while free to download, users can advance their audience through in-app purchases such as the 'Dad bot', which delivers cringe-worthy jokes and comments to their feed.

In this way, Botnet demonstrates Neo-Kinship in action, with the platform providing human-less yet personal social interaction entirely generated by data.

Botnet

Singapore’s community-focused eco-town

Neighbours, Singapore’s Housing Development Board (HDB), campaign by Wunderman Thompson

Singapore – Singapore’s Housing Development Board (HDB) is shining a light on the city’s first eco town of Punggol.

Created by Wunderman Thompson, its new campaign film – Neighbours – showcases Punggol's variety of activities and potential for burgeoning eco-conscious communities. Focusing on design, sustainability and local leisure activities, HDB highlights the progress that has been made to create a district that's appealing as well as future-facing for urban residents.

Shown through the eyes of an oriole bird, shots of panoramic landscapes capture the spaces familiar to Singaporean residents – from outdoor exercise areas to car parks and fashion stores. According to Farrokh Jal Madon, chief creative officer at Wunderman Thompson Singapore: ‘Keeping nature at the heart of self-sufficient, modern estates is an integral part of HDB’s planning.’

Focusing on the diversity and varied lifestyles of Singaporeans, the campaign diverges from typical eco aesthetics by instead taking a more relatable approach. In Wellness Architecture, we examine further how positive living and urban wellbeing are extending beyond gyms and into communities and residential developments like Punggol.

Britons combine fitness with flings

According to research by Colliers International, gyms are increasingly multi-functional spaces that play host to a variety of social activities.

Some 72% of Britons say they would consider going on a date to the gym, while 62% say they have dated someone who is a member of a gym, a gym trainer or member of staff they met at the gym. And with UK gym attendance rising steadily, fitness spaces are innovating to become key spaces for social interaction. Ross Kirton, head of UK leisure agency at Colliers International, says: ‘With gym attendance up by 45% in two years, gyms are places to train, socialise, relax and even date.’

Staying engaged with our overall wellbeing now involves much more than healthy eating and fitness classes – it's now crossing over with a variety of Social Wellness needs, from friendship to dating.