UK – Coinciding with World Mental Health Day, clothing retailers Topshop and Topman have launched a series of garments promoting self-care.

Targeting younger consumers, the brands have partnered with mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) on a range of T-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts. The designs take cues from clothing care tags that normally provide washing instructions; instead the oversized labels encourage wearers to take better care of themselves by sharing problems, taking time to ‘iron them out with a mate’, and if they’re ‘feeling completely spun out’ to call CALM's helpline.

Priced from £16 to £35, a donation of £5 from each item purchased will be given to CALM to support its helpline and webchat service. The clothing collection is part of the wider campaign led by Havas London, #LetWhatsInsideOut, urging people to reach out to friends, family or CALM’s services.

Topman in particular is demonstrating how a men’s retail brand can help to destigmatise notions of the sad boy, using fashion as a marker of progress and openness.

US – Emerging skincare brand Strange Bird unites consumers’ rising interest in spirituality with traditional Chinese beauty regimes.

Created by life coach Tina Rudolf, the brand aims to turn skin cleansing into a daily wellbeing ritual – something she calls Positive Impact Skincare. The range, which includes the Inner Clarity Cleanser and Inner Balance Serum, takes inspiration from the skincare routines of Rudolf’s Chinese mother and grandmother. Its ingredients include ginger, ginseng and goji berries, alongside mineral essences from rose quartz, amethyst and clear quartz crystals.

To elevate skincare routines ‘into a ritual of self love’, each product is inscribed with a mantra and a spiritual prompt. ‘Strange Bird combines ancient Chinese beauty traditions with high vibrational alchemy to help women create a daily practice that supports their skin goals and their life goals,’ Rudolf explains.

With traditional Chinese medicine tipped to be a growth market in the 2020s, Strange Bird represents a new direction in Ritualistic Beauty.

The presence of order kiosks and contactless ‘wallet payments' in restaurants is spoiling hospitality, according to fresh research from Mintel.

In a survey of American consumer attitudes, 28% agree that technology is ruining hospitality. In terms of specific technologies that are leaving diners cold, nearly half (48%) have not used and are not interested in trying mobile wallet payment options, while two in five (40%) who are not interested in using kiosks to order food say they avoid using kiosks because they prefer human interaction.

‘The majority of Americans are not interested in fully-automated restaurant concepts mainly because they prefer human interaction,’ notes Jill Failla, foodservice analyst at Mintel. ‘However, on-premise restaurant technology offers operators multifaceted solutions to growing labour challenges and consumer demand for speedy service.’

As we look to a future in which convenience-led technology becomes ubiquitous in hospitality and retail, human service could be transformed into the ultimate luxury.