TrendWatching | MakeShift

Edition #5 • 5-12 September 2023

Innovation deep dive

OUTDOOR AFICIONADOS: Retailer aims for 500,000 hours spent outside

To coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month in May 2023, L.L.Bean paused its social media content, replacing promotional images with resources, tips and tools that encouraged people to go outside. The US-based outdoor retailer also partnered with social fitness app Strava, inviting users to log their outdoor time in the app as part of the L.L.Bean Feel-Good Challenge with the goal of spending a combined 500,000 hours outside during… read more

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Innovation

🇬🇧🇳🇱 G-Star RAW and Vollebak turn to minerals for earth-friendly dyes

From the cave paintings of Maros-Pangkep to Renaissance frescoes, humans have long sourced pigments from soil and stones. Now, clothing brands G-Star RAW and Vollebak are returning to that mineral lineage, harnessing the… read more

Innovation

🇩🇪 Lufthansa's Green Fares take flight as air travelers show they're prepared to pay more

One hundred days after introducing its Green Fares, the world's first flight fare that incorporates CO2 emission offsets, Lufthansa announced that 200,000 passengers have already opted to pay more. The highest number of… read more

Innovation

🇰🇷 Samsung's laundry filter works with any brand's washers and captures 98% of microfibers

Researchers estimate that the average household in Canada and the US releases 533 million microfibers into wastewater systems yearly through home laundry. Samsung has introduced the Less Microfiber Filter, capturing 98% of microplastics and… read more

Trend

CODED IDENTITY: Authentic self-expression in digital spaces

Gen Z are keen to explore every aspect of their identity, refusing to be defined by traditional gender norms and embracing self-expression. This isn’t just happening offline: a significant 76% of metaverse users in the US, UK, and China express that their avatars better convey their unique individuality compared to the real world, as revealed by an early 2023 report by Wunderman Thompson. To meet this demand, digital avatars are becoming more expressive, infinitely diverse, and they’re amassing millions of users.

Advancements in generative AI and 3D technologies mean it's now possible to transfer emotions, behaviors and interactions onto digital counterparts. In April 2023, Adidas introduced dynamic NFTs, which adapt and evolve based on users' decisions and engagement. Microsoft Teams has been rolling out customizable 3D avatars with reaction features and just last week TikTok launched AI-powered avatars that can be switched up daily.

The question for your brand: how can you engage with younger consumers and facilitate dynamic self-expression in digital spaces?

Explore 25+ CODED IDENTITY innovations

Insight

Pride: Brands respond shamefully to social media bigotry

June is Pride month, but you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Whether it’s Anheuser Busch backpedaling over its tie-up with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney or Target stripping its stores of rainbow-colored merchandise, brands across the US are shamefully submitting to the anti-LGBTQ+ lobby.

In both of the aforementioned cases, furore stoked on social media resulted in poor financial outcomes; hard to swallow in today’s tough economic climate. Worse still, is the realization that you’ve been manipulated by social media hate groups. While Twitter trolls suggest otherwise, US consumers remain staunchly in favor of LGBTQ+ rights with 71% supporting marriage equality – a record high.

As poorly regulated social media platforms continue to amplify the voices of a vocal minority, brands that cave to pressure and fail to reflect the values of the silent majority will suffer from poor brand equity in the long term.

Insight

10-second insight: AI integration done right

When diving into any AI integration project, focus on enhancing customer interactions like Zoom, delivering accurate and helpful recommendations like BuzzFeed or improving brand loyalty like Coca-Cola.

Trend

Trend update: OMNIBILITY

In a recent Global Accessibility Survey by Applause, more than 68% of respondents said that digital accessibility was a higher priority for their organizations than the previous year. It’s not just talk; the 12th Global Accessibility Day (GAAD) held in May brought with it a flurry of inclusivity updates from leading tech companies. Some noteworthy innovations include:

Sony’s Project Leonardo PS5 for players with disabilities
The Accessibility Auto-Tag API for Adobe PDFs
Virtual Volunteer from BeMyEyes which uses GPT-4 to simulate human volunteers
GiveAHand.ai’s open-source image library for sign language recognition
GIPHY + Scribely joining forces to make GIFs accessible

As brands bust down barriers to entry, limited awareness could be holding back consumer adoption. How will you ensure people know about (and use!) the accessible solutions you provide? Time to update your OMNIBILITY handbook!

Read our full accessibility report

Insight

European Parliament gives a thumbs up to supply chain sustainability

Two weeks ago, the European Parliament voted in favor of a draft law targeting the social and environmental practices of supply chains. This means that companies involved in activities that harm the environment or exploit workers will need to take action to stop these practices. Consequently, businesses can no longer spotlight one sustainability initiative without considering the effect on their entire value chain.

Building on that, a recent report from Circle Economy revealed that many sustainable practices are actually carried out in developing nations by severely underpaid informal workers. Take Patagonia, which this week surpassed Unilever as the world's most sustainable corporate leader, but was also found to be working with suppliers in Sri Lanka who pay their employees a fraction of a living wage.

Given this upcoming legislation and demands for greater transparency, how will you deliver up-front visibility to all stakeholders?

Innovation

🇬🇧🇳🇱 Headphones by Kibu are designed for kids to assemble and repair

Kids grow fast and could sometimes be better at caring for their belongings. Two good reasons to create products that can easily be adapted and fixed. To that end, a new brand of kids' headphones was designed to be easily repaired and… read more

Innovation

🇩🇪 Reusing discarded materials from other exhibits, Germany takes action at Venice Biennale

The Venice Biennale opened last month and runs through 26 November 2023. For its exhibit, Wegen Umbau geöffnet/Open for Maintenance, the curating team collected leftover material from last year's Art Biennale. The German pavilion… read more

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Be sure to ping our editor, Galina Yordanov, if you're working on something we should feature on MakeShift.

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