Need to Know
27 : 02 : 23

Spain – Conscious fashion brand Ecoalf and Nagami, a design studio specialising in sustainable architecture, have opened a 90-square-metre store made entirely of 3D-printed recycled plastic.

The stunning installation in Las Rozas Village, Madrid, takes customers into a glacier-inspired space with walls, shelves and display tables made from 3.3 tonnes of plastic. Ecoalf incorporated its sustainable fashion, accessories and footwear lines into the room. The designers aim to raise awareness of how 75% of all areas covered by glaciers have melted due to rising temperatures over the past 50 years.

‘3D printing allows us to bring unimaginable spaces to life. The latter are produced locally not only by using recycled materials, but by establishing production chains that are cleaner, more sustainable and flexible. This is already a reality,’ says Manuel Jiménez García, co-founder and CEO of Nagami.

In Hyperphysical Stores, we analyse how retailers rethink bricks-and-mortar stores to make them engaging, sensorial and memorable. Ecoalf is taking this further with an innovative, awe-inspiring and inherently political shopping experience.

UK – British coffee brand WatchHouse has joined forces with skincare and fragrance-maker Haeckels to turn coffee bean waste into the core ingredient for a new hand wash and moisturiser.

To make its coffee manufacturing process more sustainable, WatchHouse thought about its chaff (a by-product from roasting beans) that used to go straight in the bin. By partnering with Haeckels, it realised that upcycling the coffee debris into a soap and lotion formula was possible. Both companies have now introduced the WatchHouse x Haeckels Bundle, which includes an espresso-based hand wash and a moisturising lotion made with espresso, avocado seeds and oat milk.

In Food Waste Innovation, we explored how the growing need to create innovative and sustainable solutions to food waste presents a range of opportunities for innovators.

UK – Could a four-day working week become the norm? As the largest pilot scheme to date came to an end, non-profit organisation 4 Day Week Global has revealed the overwhelmingly positive outcomes.

Since June 2022, nearly 3,000 UK-based employees took part in 4 Day Week Campaign, a six-month trial giving staff the opportunity to take an extra day off every week while remaining on the same salary. Companies taking part in the four-day week pilot were also offered workshops and mentoring to adjust to these changes, and to help employees manage their time to avoid productivity loss.

A survey revealed that 39% of employees felt less stressed and 54% experienced better work-life balance while working 32 hours weekly. The average number of sick days taken also dropped. The model seems to have convinced companies as well – over nine in 10 decided to extend the new working pattern, while 30% have made four-day weeks a permanent company policy. Providing wellbeing benefits and permitting equal if not heightened productivity, shorter working weeks are a development sure to define the future of work.