Sustainability

The ideas, innovations and actions your brand can take today to become part of an eco-conscious tomorrow.

Trends : Macro Trends

Post-purpose Brands

By Rachael Stott, Kathryn Bishop and Rebecca Coleman 25 : 03 : 2020 Retail : Branding : Purpose

Pushing back against purpose-washing and jumping on the bandwagon, brands will embrace imperfection and focus on betterment. With more intuitive technologies, new products and services will constantly evolve to meet our needs.

Post-purpose Brands

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Transforming pollution into greener diamonds

Transforming pollution into greener diamonds:

Future luxury goods could lie in unexpected places, says Aether Diamonds, a company turning pollution into glittering stones.

 Luxury : Sustainability : Manufacturing
A subscription plan to achieve zero-waste living

A subscription plan to achieve zero-waste living:

Personal care brand by Humankind is launching Plastic, neutral, a subscription service designed to enable consumers to offset their...

 Sustainability : Beauty : Waste Management
The brands rethinking premium drinks packaging

The brands rethinking premium drinks packaging:

Sustainable packaging for alcohol is becoming more sophisticated as premium brands push sustainability through innovative, eco-friendly...

 Drinks : Packaging : Sustainability
The youth voices of Intersectional Environmentalism

The youth voices of Intersectional Environmentalism:

With one-size-fits-all sustainability goals excluding people of colour, Gen Z are combining social justice with environmental activism.

 Youth : Sustainability : Intersectionality
Net-A-Porter uses tech to track luxury garments

Net-A-Porter uses tech to track luxury garments:

Online luxury retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter is running two pilot Digital ID technology programmes to boost circularity in luxury and fashion.

 Technology : Retail : Luxury
Aerial wants to simplify travel carbon offsetting

Aerial wants to simplify travel carbon offsetting:

Aerial app co-founder Andreas Homer on his ambition to make tracking our travel carbon footprint as intuitive as counting calories or...

 Travel : Sustainability : Hospitality
Open-source Sustainability

Open-source Sustainability:

Open-source platforms are providing materials insight and education for designers, developers and architects to make their output...

 Design : Materials : Sustainability
Covid-19 is inspiring China’s green future cities

Covid-19 is inspiring China’s green future cities:

Architect Vicente Guallart discusses his vision for Xiong’an, a nascent ecological Chinese city set to offer a new standard for urban...

 Future Cities : Architecture : China
This receipt reveals fashion’s environmental costs

This receipt reveals fashion’s environmental costs:

Swedish clothing brand Asket is allowing consumers to better understand the environmental impact of their clothing purchases through its...

 Fashion : Retail : Sustainability
Eco To Go

Eco To Go:

Packaging innovators are targeting the food delivery sector with re-usable and earth-friendly alternatives to single-use cartons and boxes.

 Food : Packaging : Materials
Greener marketing for the Transformative Twenties

Greener marketing for the Transformative Twenties:

The pandemic has made ‘pivoting’ a matter of survival as well as principle for global brands. But as we push towards a greener economy,...

 Society : Advertising : Post-pharmacy Brands
It’s time for brands to engage with de-growth

It’s time for brands to engage with de-growth:

The pace of the last decade combined with a tumultuous 2020 is driving people towards radical community models – and brands must do the...

 Society : Sustainability : Design
Will Covid quell fashion’s ‘more is more’ mindset?

Will Covid quell fashion’s ‘more is more’ mindset?:

With smaller brands struggling to stay afloat and larger brands left with stock but no demand, the pandemic could push fashion toward a...

 Fashion : Retail : Sustainability
Moral Commerce

Moral Commerce:

In the wake of Black Lives Matter, consumers are seeking brand allies and making shopping decisions informed by their socio-political...

 Retail : Finance : Sustainability
SusGain is an app for sustainable living and spending

SusGain is an app for sustainable living and spending:

A new app, susGain, has been launched in Singapore to enable people to pursue a more holistic eco-friendly lifestyle.

 Retail : Sustainability : Eco-friendlly Retail
Low-impact Interfaces

Low-impact Interfaces:

To cut the carbon emissions of our online consumption, designers are exploring how to simplify UX and UI design to be greener and more...

 Technology : Sustainability : Design
Rural Luxury Market

Rural Luxury Market:

City living is losing its allure as affluent consumers look to the countryside for a more stable and idyllic lifestyle.

 Luxury : Home : Sustainability
Now is the time for brands in China to champion sustainability

Now is the time for brands in China to champion sustainability:

The spread of Covid-19 in China has afforded business vital breathing space to get their future-facing, local sustainability strategies...

 Sustainability : Society : China
Product design is failing its problem-solving purpose

Product design is failing its problem-solving purpose:

In the era of circular economy enthusiasts, designers should stop rehashing existing products and begin designing true era-appropriate...

 Design : Sustainability : Technology
A zero-waste office centred on flexible architecture

A zero-waste office centred on flexible architecture:

Waugh Thistleton Architects's sustainable office block is designed against the tenets of reduce, reuse and recycle.

 Architecture : Workplace : Sustainability
PriestmanGoode makes takeaway culture sustainable

PriestmanGoode makes takeaway culture sustainable:

Design studio PriestmanGoode rethinks unsustainable takeaway culture with a range of circular bento-style food containers.

 Food : Sustainability : Eco-design
Eco-ambitious Retail

Eco-ambitious Retail:

Brands are self-imposing sustainability goals on their businesses that – while initially financially impactful – validate them as...

 Retail : Sustainability : Brand 2020
How Gen Z are reshaping the offline world

How Gen Z are reshaping the offline world:

Young people have fashioned the digital world. Wilson Oryema, co-founder of Regenerative Futures, believes it’s time they revive offline...

 Youth : Sustainability : Civic Brands
Imagination Travel

Imagination Travel:

The virtual travel market of our post-pandemic future will swap clunky technology and headsets for the power of human imagination.

 Travel : Tourism : Hospitality
Urban Wellness Market

Urban Wellness Market:

Consumers are re-appraising what it means to be well. Post-Covid-19, they will demand higher levels of urban health and more civic...

 Wellness : Smog Life : Covid-19
Post-purpose Brands

Post-purpose Brands:

Pushing back against purpose-washing and jumping on the bandwagon, brands will embrace imperfection and focus on betterment. With more...

 Retail : Branding : Purpose
The digital future of Fashion Weeks

The digital future of Fashion Weeks:

The impact of Covid-19 and growing climate concerns are pushing luxury and fashion brands to technology that digitises the runway and...

 Fashion : Luxury : Retail
Stat: Americans want more sustainable luxury

Stat: Americans want more sustainable luxury:

A study by Lexus has revealed that most Americans have high expectations when it comes to environmentally friendly manufacturing practices.

 Luxury : Sustainability : Material Innovation
Reebok’s First Pitch minimises sneaker waste

Reebok’s First Pitch minimises sneaker waste:

The brand’s digital platform enables consumers to collectively determine whether a sneaker should be produced.

 Fashion : Retail : Technology
Christopher Raeburn’s new collection is entirely circular

Christopher Raeburn’s new collection is entirely circular:

The designer is not creating any new garments for London Fashion Week’s digital event.

 Fashion : Retail : London Fashion Week
Why travel could become a one-trip industry

Why travel could become a one-trip industry:

Yvonne Küpper of FairAway Travel, on travel brands’ sustainable responsibilitis, the impact of Covid-19, and how to avoid greenwashing.

 Travel Experience : Travelling : Tourism
Food Waste Innovation

Food Waste Innovation:

From food-sharing to upcycling, the growing need to create innovative and sustainable solutions to food waste presents a range of...

 Food : Retail : Sustainability
Tech brands must address the environmental emergency

Tech brands must address the environmental emergency:

The challenge for tech firms over the next decade is to make the transition from profitability to solidarity, says Andres Colmenares,...

 Digital : Sustainability : Media
Goodfish tempts conscious snackers with salmon skins

Goodfish tempts conscious snackers with salmon skins:

Goodfish is launching crispy salmon skins to eliminate unhealthy snacking habits.

 Food : Super-healthy : Healthy Snacks
In future, the only luxury will be a clean conscience

In future, the only luxury will be a clean conscience:

Walpole CEO Helen Brocklebank discusses its recent Sustainability Manifesto, luxury brand stewardship, shared goals and a home...

 Luxury : Sustainability : Manufacturing
Stat: Young Britons opt for sustainability over fashion trends

Stat: Young Britons opt for sustainability over fashion trends:

According to research by Love the Sales, British shoppers are increasingly opting for sustainable garments over what’s on trend.

 Sustainability : Fashion : Stat
The spaces making zero-waste dining luxurious

The spaces making zero-waste dining luxurious:

Chefs and restaurateurs are proving that zero-waste can be high-end with a raft of new eateries representing the next generation of...

 Food : Waste : Sustainability
Promote sustainable design thinking from the start

Promote sustainable design thinking from the start:

The founder of industrial design agency Morrama emphasises the need for greater research and scrutiny to improve future working practices.

 Design : Sustainability : Material Far Futures
Luxury hotel bed linen is being re-invented as clothing

Luxury hotel bed linen is being re-invented as clothing:

Archivist Studio is using upcycled fabric from luxury hotel bed linen to create simple white shirts that meet sustainable needs.

 Fashion : Upcycle : Fabrics
Diets for an evolving planet

Diets for an evolving planet:

The Eatelier founder Katinka Versendaal on creating speculative gastronomy to translate complex research into sensorial food experiences.

 Culinary Technology : Food & Drink : Climate Change
Circular store design

Circular store design:

Consumers’ increasing interest in sustainable living is reflected in new retail destinations, where materials, design details and...

 Retail : Sustainability : Design
By-product beauty

By-product beauty:

Skincare brands are turning waste ingredients into desirable beauty products that cater for the growing number of environmentally...

 Beauty : Ingredient : Circular Economy
Vibrant Veganism

Vibrant Veganism:

Plant-based products are being boldly redefined by creative practitioners who are pushing for a visceral approach that shows desire...

 Advertising : Design : Macro
Refashioning charity retail

Refashioning charity retail:

Julie Neeve, project manager of new store formats at Oxfam, on the perks of housing the charity’s new superstore on an Oxford industrial...

 Retail : Sustainability : Fashion
Staycation Market

Staycation Market:

With carbon emissions at the forefront of travellers’ minds, a resurgence of the domestic travel market and the high-end staycation is...

 Travel : Hospitality : Sustainability
Bio-bottles

Bio-bottles:

As consumers become more knowledgeable about their waste, bottled drinks brands are responding with a series of material innovations.

 Packaging : Sustainability : Material Futures
Natural Wine Market

Natural Wine Market:

Fuelled by a rebellious yet responsible spirit, the natural category continues to flourish as a small but significant niche in the wine...

 Food & Drink : Wine : Natural
Bio-positive Beauty

Bio-positive Beauty:

Short, traceable supply chains and condensed routines are in high demand as beauty moves from zero to positive impact.

 Beauty : Sustainability : Science
Vegan Home Market

Vegan Home Market:

Consumers are turning to animal-free homewares and services to ensure every aspect of their plant-based lifestyles are aligned with...

 Retail : Sustainability : Vegan
Re-usable Packaging Market

Re-usable Packaging Market:

Growing concern about the environmental impact of plastic packaging is driving innovations in re-usable and refill concepts among...

 Retail : Packaging : Sustainability
Biodiversity will unlock a bright future for food

Biodiversity will unlock a bright future for food:

Mike Lee, co-founder of Alpha Food Labs, examines building a sustainable food and drink brand from the soil up.

 Food : Sustainability : Retail
Flexitarian Meats

Flexitarian Meats:

Food products that mix meat with a healthy dose of vegetables are becoming a gateway for consumers curious about flexitarianism and...

 Food : Meat : Health
Air-purifying Algae

Air-purifying Algae:

This humble green plant’s carbon-sequestering properties are being championed as an eco-friendly solution to urban air pollution.

 Wellness : Smog Life : Pollution
Eco Clubs

Eco Clubs:

Eco-anxious clubbers are inspiring venue owners and festivals to consider cleaner, more sustainable practices to protect the environment.

 Travel : Sustainability : Leisure
Space10 on creating a cookbook with a mission

Space10 on creating a cookbook with a mission:

Polina Bachlakova, editor of Future Food Today, the first cookbook from Ikea’s research and design lab, envisages a playful and...

 Food : Drinks : Sustainability
Immaterial Fashion

Immaterial Fashion:

As the fashion industry grapples with existential questions about supply chain and overconsumption, digitisation offers a new route for...

 Fashion : Sustainability : Digital
Secondary Waste Retail

Secondary Waste Retail:

New retail systems are professionalising the waste sector, transforming it into a consumer-facing currency and future new economy.

 Retail : Fashion : Sustainability
Bscly packages premium clothing in sugar cane

Bscly packages premium clothing in sugar cane:

The new direct-to-consumer clothing brand packages its premium basics in compostable sugar cane boxes.

 Retail : Packaging : Sustainability
Uprooted Diets

Uprooted Diets:

Diets are undergoing a seismic shift as threatened supply chains, shortened food miles and a demand for more positive action from brands...

 Food : Drinks : Uprooted Diets

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The Big Idea: Imagination Travel

The clunky headsets associated with virtual tourism were swapped for the power of human imagination in 2020.

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