News 27.08.2019

Need to Know

Facebook offers advice on privacy settings, Inhabit Hotels ingrains wellness into every touch-point, and the UK is top for healthy packaged food.

Inhabit promotes mindful, ethical hospitality

Inhabit, London
Inhabit, London
Inhabit, London

London – The new hotel brand aims to align every aspect of its design and services with a holistic approach to wellness.

Set across six Georgian townhouses, Inhabit describes itself as London’s ‘first mindful hotel’. The concept looks to offer a restorative experience in the city, celebrating conscious hospitality with a range of sustainable, eco-friendly and ethical initiatives.

Throughout the hotel, Inhabit promotes a sense of wellbeing by maximising natural light and filtering pollution with air filtration systems from Airlabs. Its 89 bedroom feature ethical homewares, personal care products using sustainably sourced ingredients, and Casper’s eco-friendly VOC-free mattresses, which are made of natural organic materials such as wool and cotton. Its fitness facilities include Peleton indoor cycling and a Clearlight Infrared Sauna, as well as meditation pod where guests and visitors can enjoy five-to six-minute-long guided sessions.

In our Conscious Tourism Market, we explore some of the ways travel and hospitality brands are promoting sustainability.

Form’s augmented reality goggles improve swim training

Augmented reality goggles by Form Augmented reality goggles by Form
Augmented reality goggles by Form Augmented reality goggles by Form

Vancouver – The swimming goggles feature an augmented reality display that delivers performance metrics in real time.

Available for £162 ($199, €178), the FORM Swim Goggles were developed in collaboration with professional swimmers and athletes. The augmented reality display is integrated into the lens of the googles, providing an unobtrusive view of key metrics, while the in-built computer uses artificial intelligence to track and display metrics like split times, distance, stroke rate and stroke count.

Rather than targeting professional athletes, the wearable device aims to make the training experiecing smarter and more engaging for swimmers of all levels. ‘Even if you’re not a high-level swimmer, Form makes swimming much more engaging and just plain fun,’ says Scott Dickens, director of strategic partnerships at Form. ‘You always know exactly what you’re doing, and you’re able to compete with yourself while you swim.’

Performance technology is growing up, with consumer wearables such as Form embedding technology that would typically be targeted at professionals.

Facebook’s cafés will offer personalised privacy check-ups

UK – The social media company is opening five pop-up cafés across the UK, which will offer visitors advice on personalising privacy settings.

Opening in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Brighton and Cardiff between 28 August and 5 September, the branded Facebook Cafés will act as temporary advice centres. They will be located within existing coffee shops, providing visitors with a privacy check-up as well as a free cup of coffee or tea.

According to Facebook, many social media users do not know how to customise their privacy settings, but the company hopes that the spaces will serve to improve general understanding. ‘At our pop-up cafés you can get help and advice on how to change your privacy settings – and all in the time it takes to make a cup of coffee,’ says Steve Hatch, vice president of Facebook northern Europe.

With consumers growing increasingly distrustful of Facebook over its use of their data, the pop-up cafes represent the company’s ongoing efforts to redeem itself in the eyes of the public. For more, read our Morality Recoded macrotrend.

Facebook cafe, UK

Stat: British packaged food is the healthiest in the world

Packaged food and drinks sold in the UK are the healthiest in the world, according to a new analysis of 400,000 food and drink products in 12 countries by the George Institute for Global Health. To determine the healthiness of the products, Australia’s Health Star Rating system was used. Britain ranked best for levels of sugar, fat, salt and calories found in common foods, while the US and Australia closely followed.

Meanwhile, India, China and Chile ranked lowest in the study. According to lead author Dr Elizabrth Dunford, ‘Unfortunately, it's the poorer nations that are least able to address the adverse health consequences that have the unhealthiest foods.’ This leaves an opportunity for brands to make healthier food more accessible in emerging economies.

To see how retailers can make high-quality products available at a fairer price, read our microtrend Affirmative Fractions.

Previous News Articles
JD Sports celebrates modern families in Christmas campaign

News

JD Sports celebrates modern families in Christmas campaign

JD Sports is redefining the meaning of family this holiday season with its 2024 Christmas campaign, Family.
Society : Identities : Home
Louis Le Joly Senoville debuts wearable chess set

News

Louis Le Joly Senoville debuts wearable chess set

Central Saint Martins graduate Louis Le Joly Senoville has introduced a groundbreaking wearable chess set as his final-year project.
Design : Fashion : Sport
Foresight Friday: Fiona Harkin, director of foresight

News

Foresight Friday: Fiona Harkin, director of foresight

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. Here, direc...
Foresight
Stat: Sober Christmas parties are on the rise

News

Stat: Sober Christmas parties are on the rise

Christmas celebrations are being reshaped because of shifting consumer attitudes to alcohol, with health, inclusivity and experiential elements dri...
Society : Holidays : Food & Drink
The Future Laboratory and Bacardi investigate cocktail culture in 2025

News

The Future Laboratory and Bacardi investigate cocktail culture in 2025

Bacardi, in collaboration with The Future Laboratory, has released its cocktail trend report for 2025, forecasting a transformative year for the sp...
Drink : Spirits : Food
LG Display unveils world’s first stretchable display with 50% expandability

News

LG Display unveils world’s first stretchable display with 50% expandability

LG Display has achieved a major milestone in display technology with the launch of the world’s first stretchable display, capable of expanding by u...
Technology : Design : AI
New research finds that cannabinol significantly improves sleep

News

New research finds that cannabinol significantly improves sleep

Researchers from the University of Sydney’s Lambert Initiative have found new evidence supporting cannabinol (CBN) as an effective sleep aid.
Health : Wellness : Medicine
Stat: Teens face weekly exposure to conspiracy theories

News

Stat: Teens face weekly exposure to conspiracy theories

A new study by the News Literacy Project reveals that teens encounter conspiracy theories on their social media feeds at least once a week, yet mos...
Pop Culture : Youth : Media
Chester Zoo rebrands as a force for nature

News

Chester Zoo rebrands as a force for nature

Chester Zoo has unveiled a rebrand developed in partnership with branding agency How&How. 
Sustainability : Design : Advertising
Gobi Cashmere revitalises brand identity with Mongolian roots

News

Gobi Cashmere revitalises brand identity with Mongolian roots

Mongolian cashmere giant Gobi has unveiled a refreshed brand identity deeply rooted in its heritage and sustainable ethos.
Culture : Design : Fashion
You have 2 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN