LSN : News : Stat: The vast majority of beach litter comes from just 12 companies

Headspace launches women's wellness content series

Women’s Collection by Headspace, UK

US and UK – The guided meditation and wellness app has partnered with women’s online community Peanut to launch a content series designed specifically for women. The Women’s Collection features a range of experts and covers three main categories: body and health, sex and relationships, and strength in solidarity.

The launch comes in the wake of the overturning of Roe versus Wade in the US, and following research conducted in the UK by the two companies that reveals that 89% of women think that the medical industry doesn’t take women’s sexual desires seriously, and that 78% have experienced low sex drive. It’s a response that aims to normalise conversations about women’s sexual wellness and tackle taboos, providing access to crucial information.

‘It can be hard for women to access information and advice, combined with the fact that many are too embarrassed to ask, and therefore having it all in one, accessible place is really transformative and important to support women’s wellbeing,’ says relationship therapist Kate Moyle, who features in the series. Explore our Women Futures series to track the female-first shifts reshaping the future.

Strategic opportunity

How can you recentre women in branded content and campaign imagery? Consider launching content that directly addresses the needs of women and other frequently overlooked groups

This ice-cube necklace celebrates water as a luxury

Ice-cube necklace by Golem and Laila El Mehelmy, Paris

Paris – Inspired by the unprecedented heatwave across Europe this summer, design studio Golem’s OoOoooOoooOh la l’ice necklace features seven ice cubes on a chain of silver beads that melt in half an hour. It comes with a customised silicon tray that allows owners to refreeze the necklace.

With temperatures rising worldwide, the piece is designed to celebrate water as a precious commodity, with the idea coming about during a party in Berlin where partygoers rubbed each other with ice from the freezer to escape the searing heat, according to Ariel Claudet, Golem’s founder. ‘At a time when water sources are being privatised and water scarcity is striking all countries across the globe, water is turning from an overlooked commodity into one of the most sought-after luxury goods,’ he says.

With water security a growing global concern, companies are finding new ways to spark conversation and expand awareness. For more, read our viewpoint on why the future of beauty requires cleaner water.

Strategic opportunity

Look to the Valuing Water Finance Initiative (VWFI), which lays out practical guidelines for reducing water consumption for brands in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

Haeckels’ edible cup combats plastic waste at festivals

UK – The Margate-based skincare and fragrance brand is teaming up with Red Bull to launch an edible cup that tackles single-use plastic waste at festivals. Created using a new algae-based biomaterial, if not eaten the cup begins to compost within 48 hours, returning its benefits to the soil.

With an estimated 100m plastic cups used at festivals around the world every year, according to the brand, the partnership with Red Bull was an experiment to see if anything could be done to stop the problem. The cup is made of a gut-friendly material flavoured with ginger, spirulina and blueberry, and will be launched at We Out Here Festival in Cambridgeshire. The launch aligns with Haeckels’ ethos to prioritise an innovative approach to sustainability and follows the launch of its three-week microbiome-boosting programme, Gut Health.

As eco-anxious partygoers inspire clubs and festivals to adopt more sustainable practices, brands can tap into receptive audiences at these events and inspire early adopters with solutions that push the sustainability narrative forward.

Haeckels Partners With Red Bull for an Edible Cup

Strategic opportunity

With their open-minded atmospheres, festivals offer an ideal space to trial innovative product and packaging concepts before rolling them out at scale

Stat: The vast majority of beach litter comes from just 12 companies

Plastic, neutral by Humankind

A dozen companies are responsible for 70% of litter on UK beaches and in natural habitats, according to a 2022 study by charity Surfers Against Sewage. Over the past year, 4,000 citizen scientists have scoured 13,000 miles of coastline, rivers and other green spaces to produce the data for this year’s annual report. Led by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, McDonald’s, and other major drink and snack brands, just 12 companies were responsible for most of the packaging found.

The charity is calling for an ‘all-in’ deposit return scheme that would levy a charge to customers to be paid back when the packaging is returned for recycling. It says almost half of the waste found would be covered by such a scheme, and that companies should do more to take responsibility for the full lifecycle of their products and packaging.

‘Despite public sustainability commitments, these dirty brands are failing to take meaningful action to stop this harm,’ says Hugo Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage. ‘Businesses need to take responsibility for their polluting products and transition to models of reduction and re-use.’ Follow our Sustainability Series for emerging developments in this sector.

Strategic opportunity

Take responsibility for the full lifecycle of your products, including packaging. Consider launching a deposit return scheme that works towards a truly circular business model