Need to Know
15 : 06 : 22

Tokyo – In a bid to create a holistically sustainable retail experience, architectural firm Foster + Partners is planning a Tokyo-based retail development made entirely from timber. The nine-storey department store, located on the famous Shibuya Crossing, will be designed using materials and building techniques that reduce its carbon output.

As well as being an environmentally conscious structure, Shibuya Marui Department Store also aims to create a community of lifestyle brands which share the same sustainable values. The store's roof garden includes a café and restaurant, with room for an urban food farm in the future. By establishing such sustainable and ethical metrics in its choice of brands, the store tunes in to the ideas we explore in Criteria Retail, with retailers setting strict eco- or social criteria for the products they sell.

Elsewhere, we've been tracking the rise of greener retail developments, and the ways that such structures can benefit shoppers, workers and the environment on a wide scale. For more, discover Rewilding Retail.

Paris – Just when we thought artisanal coffee might be losing ground, French company Momus is putting high-end blends back on the map. With a roster of creatives and specialists collaborating on different flavours, the company is on a mission to make coffee collectible.

Hailing from the fashion industry, Lionel Giraud, the company’s founder, is bringing the services and aesthetics seen in the luxury sector to the coffee market. Each coffee product is packaged in white and colour-coded boxes that resemble paperback books, communicating a more premium product. Customers who want to buy the coffee can also schedule a 30-minute consultation with the Momus in-house barista, where they have the option to make a customised blend for £39 ($47, €45).

Reviving the Craft Coffee Market, Momus is bringing couture coffee to life. ‘Even when you go to a three-star restaurant, you are likely to find a menu with 30 pages or more for wine, and then, at the end, you have one line: coffee,' explains Lionel Giraud, founder of Momus.

Although people might assume that older generations are more reliant on gas-guzzling cars, a recent report by mobility company TIER reveals otherwise. According to the research, in the UK, 49% of over-65s who use private or shared e-bikes do so to reduce their carbon footprint.

Indeed, the survey demonstrates a surge in demand for micro-mobility services among UK retirees. Some 24% of over-65s plan to use an e-bike for the first time in 2022, suggesting that 59% of this age group could be e-bike users by 2023. One of the key motivations for this age group’s adoption of e-bikes is the environment. According to the study, those over 65 are more likely (23%) than those under 65 (19%) to consider the carbon footprint of travel.

These findings are significant because they imply that older adults are interested in e-bikes and that they’re prepared to try new modes of mobility to help protect the environment.