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Kopparberg launches UPF40 football shirts to promote sun safety during Euros

Drink Responsibly This Summer campaign by Kopparberg and Melanoma Fund. Creative by Neverland, UK

UK – As the UEFA European Football Championship begins, Kopparberg is tackling sun safety with the launch of UPF40 football shirts. With research revealing that nearly six in 10 Britons skip sunscreen at live matches or screenings in pub gardens, Kopparberg aims to protect fans from UV rays while they enjoy the games.

The UPF40 shirts, made from a material that blocks 97.5% of UV rays, will be distributed at selected pubs across England and Scotland and through competitions on Kopparberg’s social channels. The initiative is part of the brand’s Drink Responsibly This Summer campaign in partnership with the Melanoma Fund. In addition to the shirts, Kopparberg will provide SPF50 sunscreen sachets and UV-reactive stickers to remind fans to reapply sunscreen.

With these efforts, Kopparberg aims to ensure fans enjoy the Euros safely and responsibly. Michelle Baker, CEO of the Melanoma Fund, emphasises the campaign's significance: ‘Sunburn doubles the risk of melanoma. Our partnership highlights responsible drinking and sun-safe habits this summer.’ For more insights on how brands are acting as forces for good in society check out our Civic Brands report.

Strategic opportunity

How can your brand both educate and protect consumers authentically and aptly? Collaborate with health organisations, create seasonal campaigns or beneficial products that highlight your brand’s civic-minded philosophy

Jouissance fragrances are inspired by erotic literature

Jouissance, UK

UK – London-based fragrance brand Jouissance is launching a trio of scents inspired by erotic literature.

La Bague D’O is a sensual re-imagining of Pauline Réage’s Story of O, intended to conjure images of a ‘bruise-coloured bouquet’. En Plein Air takes inspiration from the work of art critic and erotic memoirist Catherine M Bright, opening with ‘a clean airiness of an intellectual life’ before giving away to the ‘grassy dirtiness of amorous alfresco exploits’. Finally, Les Cahiers Secrets is based on the sensory writing of diarist Anaïs Nin – warm, nostalgic and sensual, the scent imagines a ‘well-travelled writers’ den’. The collection will be available this month.

Jouissance will also function as a community platform for women to explore perfume and art, and support up-and-coming female artists, such as Katrien De Blauwer, who has designed three limited-edition collages inspired by each scent. In our Synaesthesia Scents report, we explored how scent is being elevated from an aesthetic pleasure to a multi-dimensional consumer experience. Jouissance translates provocative works of literature into an olfactory experience, appealing to both literature lovers and fans of experimental fragrance.

Strategic opportunity

Beauty brands should consider creating narrative-driven scents that deepen brand storytelling and appeal to niche fandoms through collaborations with creatives, sports teams and cultural icons

Foresight Friday: Seyi Oduwole, intern

AI imagery by The Future Laboratory, UK

Every Friday, the Future Laboratory team offers an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, intern Seyi Oduwole discusses IT girl initiatives, the ad-hoc accessories beauty trend and Fenty Hair’s entrance into the haircare market.

: Following Charli XCX’s IT girl-filled 360 music video, fashion brand Poster Girl has released the IT Girl campaign. Recreating The Bachelor show, it features pop icon Aliyah's Interlude, queer queen Kim Petras and insta baddies The Clermont Twins. With such a range of diverse models, the campaign taps into Gen Z's desire for diversity and intersectionality within fashion, a topic we have discussed in our Inclusive Fashion Market.

: Non-committal accessories such as fake piercings are all the rage right now, seen at the Alexander Wang autumn/winter 2024 show, on Emma Chamberlain’s eyebrows and Doja Cat’s nails. This echoes our Momentary Make-up report about the rise in impermanent beauty augmentations that give people the ability to try different identities.

: Several brands entered the haircare market recently – Beyoncé's Cécred, Issa Rae's Sienna Naturals and Tracee Ellis Ross's Pattern. And there’s a new kid on the block: Fenty Hair by Rihanna. Knowing Rihanna’s disruptive spirit and pioneering DE&I mandate for her brands, I’m sure Fenty Hair will create progressive products and campaigns that we can’t get enough of. LS:N Global previously explored textured hair futures in our Accredited Advice and Next-gen Hair Accessories reports.

Quote of the Week

'[The over-reliance on technology] reduces the vibrancy of life and makes you feel like you’re floating around in a daze. It’s like being stuck in a cave watching wall of shadows, instead of being out in the world. The analogue [trend] is really just an effort to counteract that and take hold of embodied reality again.'

Andreas Nygren, a 25-year-old student in Tallinn, Estonia, to The Guardian

Stat: The dirty truth about AI’s energy consumption

Scenes From the Last Day on Planet Earth by Chris Maggio, US

Global – Artificial intelligence, including generative models such as ChatGPT, along with data centres and cryptocurrencies, are projected to significantly increase electricity consumption globally. A study by the International Energy Agency indicates that energy usage by these sectors will double by 2026.

While a single Google search uses about 0.3 watt-hours of electricity, a ChatGPT query consumes roughly 2.9 watt-hours. With approximately nine billion searches daily, this equates to nearly 10 terawatt-hours annually. At that pace, researchers predicts that by 2026, generative AI models will use at least 10 times more energy than in 2023.

The increasing amount of energy needed to power up AI highlights the urgency for efficient solutions. Data centres require advanced cooling systems to prevent overheating, causing up to 40% of total energy consumption in a data centre to come from cooling management.

This underscores the need for sustainable practices in AI deployment and thoughtful use of the technology, a challenge we raised in The Future of Responsible AI.

Strategic opportunity

As this critical issue is coming to light, businesses must consider how their own AI use may impact their environmental footprint and use the technology responsibly, emphasising sustainable growth and minimising planetary impact