Observation:  Vida has rolled out the first 100% biodegradable takeaway coffee cup across all stores in South Africa. The takeaway coffee cup’s lining is manufactured from corn starch instead of plastic, making it biodegradable and compostable. The waste from these cups and newspaper is then used to make the takeaway holder. The sip lid is manufactured from moulded fibre.

The drinking experience is also better as the cups are double walled, meaning the cup sleeve is no longer needed.

Why: The conscious consumer movement is gaining traction and consumers’ purchase choices are becoming more considered. Vida wants to provide more sustainable, greener options. Let’s hope that other companies follow suit.

Observation: Utilising photocatalytic paint that cleans the air, Converse has partnered with street artists around the world to share their message of inclusiveness, heritage, culture, solidarity and more Why: The themes explored by the artists using environmentally friendly paint are core ideals of the Converse target audience. Doing no harm will appeal directly to them. Added to this, utilising local artists to do a vision of their own choosing is essential to the authenticity of the project Future: The trend of using local people to share your message in an authentic way, whilst also beautifying ethically will expand.

Observation: After trialling with 4 stores in 2018, Woolworths have now removed all plastic bags from 147 of their stores. The supplier for their reusable bags is Isikhwama - a 100% black-owned supplier that has employed 148 people from under-resourced communities Why: Woolworths sells approximately 140 million plastic bags per year which equates to between 6 – 7 tons of plastic so stopping selling plastic bags will make a significant impact on a single use plastic bags littering South Africa. This goes a small way to reducing plastic pollution, but still the packaging problems that Woolworths has, continues to cause concern.

Future: As we see Apple committing to go Carbon free by 2030, Johnnie Walker creating fully recyclable paper bottles, Woolworths is on trend with cutting down on plastics and this will only increase. 

Observation: Multiple Asian nations airlines are currently conducting dummy flights, as well as actual flights to nowhere.  

- Thai Airways has opened a cafe within a plane, allowing remote passengers to get on board and enjoy a cup of coffee.  - EVA Air in Taiwan and China Air both allowed customers to experience traveling by letting them check-in and board an airplane. Each trip lasts for three hours, as the plane circled the skies before returning to the same airport.  - Singapore Airlines is also planning to start hosting trips that will see planes taking off and landing back at Singapore Changi Airport, this service will launch in October. 

- EVA are particularly creative as they have created themed flights including a Fathers Day Hello Kitty themed flight, passengers could enjoy a photo opportunity at check in. After security, they spent time in the Eva Air Hello Kitty Joyful Dream Lounge, where they could take photos with a costumed Hello Kitty and her friends, during the flight customers received Hello Kitty-themed in-flight amenities, gift bags and meals created by three-Michelin-star chef Motokazu Nakamura, the cost for this experience is US$180 Why: Travel has, alongside hospitality been hit especially hard by lockdown. Airlines desperately need to create some form of income, in the same breath many around the world are desperate to start traveling again and perhaps pretending to is the closest thing you can get to a real flight.  That said, it seems particularly wasteful to burn jet fuel into the atmosphere just for a funfair ride.  Future: Are EVA’s themed flights a sign of things to come? Could planes be used for something other than just flying? We could possibly see bands touring on a plane, or maybe even doing bougie markets with michelin starred meals?

Observation: Flash Forest aims to use drones to plant a billion trees by 2028. Some drones can plant 100,000 trees per day whereas a person can plant 1 500 trees per day. It combines the use of drones with specially-designed pods and an accelerated seed germination process. Drone are currently firing seed pods to restore the devastation from the Toronto wildfire. 

Why: Every year our planet loses 13 billion trees and regains less than half of that. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that “it’s necessary to plant 1 billion hectares of trees—a forest roughly the size of the entire United States—to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.” Trees need to begin growing as quickly as possible now. Drones plant 10 times faster than humans and at 20% of the cost.

Observation:  We spotted this butt “buttress” in Woodstock Cape Town encouraging smokers to place their butts in the hole. It's attached to a solid concrete cone so chances of theft are far lower than usually expected in Cape Town. Why:  Smokers have that habit, you know the one: *take final drag *drop butt onto pavement *squash with foot *turn and walk away as if the squash has through some higher power dissolved the cigarette butt into the ether.  Future: It won't be long till smokers are being reproached for their littering, and something like this will keep out cities a bit cleaner and hygienic till that happens. 

Observation: Capsula Mondi, a company that aims at changing the way we look how we lay our loved ones to rest by replacing coffins with pods 

Why: Land is increasingly getting more expensive people are now open to there methods of laying their dead to rest. 

Future: We might see an increase in forests, and this could help clean up the toxins in our atmosphere and air.

Link: https://youtu.be/oB9vWt-wn4M

Observation: The fastest growing city in the world Lagos has grown by over 100 times, from under 200,000 people to nearly 20 million in just 2 generations. The assertion is that by 2100 Lagos will house nearly 100 Million people. Why: Although a long way in the future, we are looking carefully at the powerful impact of urbanisation. As we move forward, fewer and fewer kids are interested in farming and agriculture. What does this mean for how and what we eat?