Need to Know
10 : 01 : 23

UK – With increasing numbers of no- and low-alcohol versions of traditional tipples, finding these options on the market can be overwhelming. Enter Sippers, an online marketplace entirely dedicated to non-alcoholic drinks.

As sober-curiosity is rising, newly launched platform Sippers wants to make non-alcoholic drinks more accessible and convenient for anyone, from people cutting down on alcohol to those trying to quit drinking altogether. The online store only carries no- and low-alcohol beverages, with an extensive catalogue including wine, beer, spirits, pre-mixed cocktails and functional drinks, with a particular focus on putting forward independent brands.

This sober one-stop shop is the brainchild of Millie Gooch, who is also behind Sober Girl Society, a UK-based online platform dedicated to promoting sobriety among women. Frustrated with how confusing and time-consuming identifying alcohol-free options is when shopping online, Gooch co-created Sippers. ‘When I see alcohol brands bring out a non-alcoholic version, sometimes it feels like it’s a tick-box exercise,’ says Gooch. ‘Having a dedicated space run by people who are so passionate about the category makes it easier to communicate our message.’

With a strong focus on the community it is serving and on dedicated small brands, Sippers is a good example of how wellness-centric businesses can balance flavour and function to fit modern lifestyles.

Global – We may all be thinking about the daunting challenges facing us in 2023 after the rollercoaster of 2022, but the latest climate report offers no reasons for optimism as it looks ahead to the state of the world in 2100.

According to a recent paper published in Science, up to half of our planet’s glaciers will have disappeared by 2100 – and that’s if we achieve the 1.5°C maximum temperature increase set by the Paris Climate Agreement. Even worse, it is predicted that at least half of that loss will happen in the next 30 years.

The paper states that the scale and impacts of glacial loss are far greater than previously predicted, and says that if global heating continues under the current scenario of 2.7°C of warming, losses will be more significant, with 68% of glaciers disappearing. That means saying a swift goodbye to glaciers in central Europe, western Canada and the US by the end of the next century.

Of course, the impact on sea level rises is significant; with 2.7°C of warming, glacial melt would lead to a rise in sea levels of about 115mm, a 23% increase on what was previously estimated. ‘The rapidly increasing glacier mass losses as global temperature increases beyond 1.5°C stresses the urgency of establishing more ambitious climate pledges to preserve the glaciers in these mountainous regions,’ say the paper’s researchers, who used two decades of satellite data to map the planet’s glaciers with greater precision than ever before.

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