Need to Know
07 : 10 : 21

Shanghai – X11, a retail concept that boasts the largest toy collection in China, aims to attract a new demographic of Generation Z parents. The space, set over two floors, exhibits toys from around the world in a similar vein to artworks, using photogenic backdrops in order to tap into this generation’s passion for documenting retail spaces on social media.

By tapping into the region’s long-standing experiential retail trend and marketing this towards a new generation of parents, X11 is using maximalist design to elevate the traditional toy shop. With the store, BloomDesign, the architects behind the project, aim to promote discovery, playfulness and exploration – values that complement the toy market and appeal to a youthful Chinese demographic who are keen to shop for home-grown brands.

With newly imposed policies allowing parents in China to have three children for the first time in 42 years, X11 is well positioned to capture the burgeoning market of Gen Z parents. With the shop appealing to both children and adult collectors, it represents a shift in China’s Emerging Youth Market, as consumers who were once considered youth become parents themselves.

New Zealand – The natural beauty brand is pushing industry standards with the announcement of its fully circular product range and carbon-positive status. Showcasing a holistic approach to the environment, the brand is introducing refillable packaging and a convenient take-back scheme in partnership with waste management company TerraCycle.

Together with environmental certification agency Toitū Envirocare, Emma Lewisham is also measuring and positively offsetting emissions throughout its entire supply chain – including the harvesting of raw ingredients, transport, product packaging and end-of-life for each product. The brand is recognising the importance of providing open-source sustainability for the wider industry to learn from, by publishing its circularity guidelines. ‘If we are to ensure packaging is recycled, brands must take ownership of their materials and work with customers to take back all packaging globally to be recycled through specialised recycling partners who ensure this happens,’ explains Lewisham.

Through this fully circular and sustainable approach, the beauty brand is setting a positive example to similar businesses that are contributing to the rise of Bio-positive Beauty.

The media and entertainment industries continue to lack representation of people of the global majority, especially when it comes to Latinx and Hispanic communities. The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at the University of Southern California recently released a study that found that just 5% of all 51,158 speaking characters identified across a sample of 1,300 Hollywood films were Hispanic or Latino.

The representation of women from these backgrounds was found to be particularly low, accounting for just 1.9% of all leads or co-leads, and 43.6% of the most popular films of the past 13 years didn’t feature even one Hispanic or Latino character. Ariana Case, the study’s lead author, highlights the role of the industry in represents modern America, as well as the highly diverse city of Los Angeles, in which many of these films are set: ‘This community represents nearly 20% of the US population and nearly half of Los Angeles residents and yet remains almost invisible on screen.’

While these communities have long faced a lack of portrayals in mainstream media, Hispanic youth are taking it upon themselves to boost their representation through activism, music and beauty.