LSN : News : Stat: Increasing amount of microplastics in placentas linked to premature births

Skyn reframes condom shopping in Japan

Soft Competition by Skyn, Japan

Japan – Condom brand Skyn is injecting humour into Valentine’s Day marketing with its latest campaign, Soft Competition, which playfully explores the tension between personal desires and social etiquette in Japan.

Developed by UltraSuperNew Tokyo, the campaign centres on a man and woman reaching for the last packet of Skyn condoms in a convenience store. Their inner emotions – honne in Japanese (true feelings) – erupt in a comical showdown, before they return to their composed tatemae (public facade or socially acceptable) selves.

‘This marks a monumental milestone for Skyn,’ Annie Hou, associate director of sales and marketing at MAM LifeStyles, the company behind Skyn, told Little Black Book. ‘After almost a decade in Japan, we are thrilled to announce that our products are now available in the highly competitive Konbini Market – a space traditionally dominated by big-name brands.’

Creative director at UltraSuperNew Yousuke Ozawa added: ‘We decided to take a fresh approach by casting the characters as rivals instead of couples, adding a whole new dynamic to the brand. We also made the protagonist a woman, something only Skyn could pull off since the product is designed for both men and women. Instead of the usual submissive or cutesy portrayal of a Japanese woman, we made her a confident, charismatic go-getter.’

Find more insights on what's new and next in the sexual health space in our The Sexuwellness Women’s Market report.

Strategic opportunity

The honne (true feelings) versus tatemae (public facade) concept could be applied beyond Japan. Consider exploring how customers navigate private versus public identities in product design, advertising and brand engagement

AI chatbot Eva gives a voice to imprisoned women

Paraguay – El Surtidor, an independent media outlet in Paraguay, has launched Eva, an AI-powered chatbot based on a woman imprisoned for alleged drug trafficking and organised crime. Since its debut in September, Eva has logged more than 15,500 interactions, offering users a rare glimpse into the realities of incarcerated women.

Created through extensive interviews, Eva shares her experiences, from arrest to life in prison, helping humanise a group often marginalised in mainstream media. ‘We wanted to build empathy between the audience and a segment of the population that’s largely invisible,’ said El Surtidor’s Juliana Quintana.

Unlike typical AI chatbots, Eva aims to challenge stigma and inspire public debate around Paraguay’s war on drugs, which disproportionately affects women from impoverished backgrounds. The chatbot cannot generate its own responses, ensuring authenticity while preventing AI distortions.

Following Eva’s success, El Surtidor is developing a new AI project focused on Paraguay’s history of land seizures under dictatorship. This initiative highlights the potential of AI to amplify untold stories and reshape public discourse.

Explore our macrotrend report, The Synthocene Era: Merging Human and Machine Intelligence, to learn how AI-driven educational tools can be used ethically and empathetically to enhance understanding of diverse perspectives.

Eva chatbot by El Surtidor, Paraguay

Strategic opportunity

Leverage AI-driven storytelling and chatbots to amplify marginalised voices, drive social impact and tackle justice, gender equality and digital rights while ensuring authenticity and ethical engagement

Stat: Increasing amount of microplastics in placentas linked to premature births

Photography by Matilda Wormwood

US – New research presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine has found that microplastic contamination in placentas is more than 50% higher in preterm births than in full-term pregnancies, raising fresh concerns over the potential health impacts of plastic pollution.

Researchers analysed 100 placentas from full-term births (37.2 weeks, on average) and 75 from preterm births (34 weeks) from births in Houston, Texas, using highly sensitive mass spectrometry. They detected 203 micrograms of plastic per gram of tissue (µg/g) in premature placentas, compared with 130µg/g in full-term samples. PET (which is used to make plastic bottles), PVC, polyurethane and polycarbonate were among the 12 plastic types identified. While the study establishes only an association rather than causation, microplastics are known to trigger inflammation – a key factor in initiating labour.

‘Our study hints at the possibility that the accumulation of plastics could be contributing to the occurrence of preterm birth,’ Kjersti Aagaard, research professor at Boston Children’s Hospital, told The Guardian. ‘Combined with other recent research, this study adds to the growing body of evidence that demonstrates a real risk from exposure to plastics on human health and disease.’

For more insights on the tangible consequences of pollution, head to our Sustainability topic.

Strategic opportunity

Explore innovative alternatives to plastics, such those based on seaweed or mushrooms, or other compostable alternatives, for use in products and packaging