Need to Know
06 : 03 : 20

Bali – Desa Potato Head is uplifting its original hybrid beach club concept with a new hotel and creative village that welcomes both locals and international guests.

Known as Potato Head Studios, it brings together music, art, design, food, wellness and sustainability for a holistic experience that aims to redefine beach destination hospitality. Alongside a 168-room hotel, the 387,500-square-feet complex now features farm-to-table restaurants, a multifunctional gallery and a music recording studio.

It is hoped the space will ignite local creativity as well as offering entertainment and inspiration to guests. Having originally dreamed up the creative campus concept in 2010, Ronald Akili, founder of Potato Head, says: ‘We know the consumer is changing to value experiences over simple transactions, and we believe that villages and communities can create those memorable experiences – especially when they are focused on inspiring creativity, like we’re doing at Desa Potato Head.’

The idea of creating a community living and working from a space all year round is further explored in our recent interview with Claus Sendlinger, founder of Design Hotels.

New York – A new investigative journalism site, The Markup, aims to expose how big tech is affecting our lives.

With the tagline Big Tech Is Watching You, We’re Watching Big Tech, the site is an example of the shift away from intrusive, non-transparent news platforms. Through its investigative journalism, it will draw attention to the ways technology companies and brands lack transparency on data collection and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and surveillance.

In this way, The Markup is empowering consumers with education about the platforms and services they might or might not want to engage with. Aiming to cover a range of different industries, the site delves into the topics like the impact of AI on healthcare and automobile insurance algorithms. True to its own mission, the non-profit-making platform prioritises reader privacy by collecting very little data about site visitors. It also promises to never monetise its data and will not expose readers to third-party tracking.

With consumers increasingly concerned about their digital footprint and the ways big tech is tracking their lives, companies are being challenged to work towards new, more ethical frameworks – as we uncover in Morality Recoded.

The fashion industry is increasingly damaging to the environment, says a new report from Ordre in association with the Carbon Trust.

The study reveals that 241,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) are released every year as a result of travel associated with the wholesale ready-to-wear fashion-buying process and fashion shows. Air travel also contributes 147,000 tons of carbon emissions, while 78,000 tons can be attributed to accommodation.

Simon P Lock, founder and CEO of Ordre Paris, says: ‘The carbon emissions are associated with the buyers and media travelling to attend [shows]. Other carbon emission points of focus include local travel on the ground, the use of fossil fuel in powering productions and the use of non-recyclable production materials.’

With the climate emergency continuing to draw attention to the industry, technological advancements will result in a growing number of brands embracing digitised processes and Immaterial Fashion to make fashion's footprint less impactful.