Need to Know
07 : 02 : 18

Washington – Oculoplastic surgeon Christopher Burris is launching a new range of eyecare products later this year that combine medical optometry with the cosmetic aspects of good eye health. With branding by Futura, the products include a selection of eye wipes, eye cream and drops as well as a range of glasses.

‘When looking at a face, the eyes are naturally one of the most common places that we focus on for clues about a person’s age, health and demeanor,’ Burris tells LS:N Global. ‘Health, wellness, form, function and beauty all intersect at the eyes.’ It marks a shift in eyecare that is emerging concurrently in oral hygiene, with brands like Clear Coffee and Qii each taking a more lifestyle-orientated approach.

US – Ironically, one of this year's most talked-about Super Bowl ads was based around the premise of Amazon‘s Alexa losing her voice. Tapping into a growing interest in home assistants and the challenge to brands in creating a voice identity, the spot plays out with a host of celebrities, from Gordon Ramsey to Anthony Hopkins, who assume responsibility for speaking as the device with disastrous effect.

Amazon has taken a keen interest in improving its voice skills in recent times with the announcement of its investment in Pulse Labs, a start-up that works with developers and focus groups to test voice apps before they are launched to the public to help encourage continuing engagement.

In our forthcoming Morality Recoded macrotrend we will examine the ethical issues surrounding voice commerce as these home assistant devices become commonplace in the home. Book here for our annual Trend Briefing, where this and other long-term macrotrends will be unveiled.

Global – Children’s charity Unicef is tapping into the cryptocurrency zeitgeist with a new initiative that calls on anyone with a powerful graphics card – namely gamers and e-sports fans – to mine Ethereum for its cause.

The unusual approach to raising funds serves several purposes. Firstly, it encourages a new demographic of philanthropists that diverges from the charity’s traditional benefactors aged 50 plus. The use of blockchain technology also enables Unicef to ensure that all of its financial gains are completely transparent and traceable.

In line with our macrotrend The New Value Economy, by calling on people to donate time and electricity through mining, Unicef is creating a value exchange system that falls outside traditional fiat money.

The global export market for worn and used clothing is estimated to be about £2.9bn ($4bn, €3.2bn). Analysing UN data, the BBC found that the value and volume of second-hand imports and exports has decreased significantly between 2014 and 2016, as countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Burundi plan to halt imports from the UK and the US by 2019.