🌱 Big Brands Are Greenwashing You

📰 Industry News

• Wilko announces a new tool and equipment rental service for customers and DIY enthusiasts. Dubbed ‘Wilkohire’. Shoppers can hire tools for various projects including landscaping, cleaning and more. (RetailWeek)

• With a new uniform coming out for staff, Ikea has released a new collection of homeware made from the previous staff uniforms. The range includes bags, cushions and curtains - all made from old uniform designs. (IKEA)

• Superdry’s share price has been almost cut in half after its chief executive decided against making an offer for the struggling fashion retailer. (Yahoo Finance)

• This year, H&M Group plans to refurbish 250 of its stores and open a further 100 new stores, while closing around 160, according to its annual report. (Retail Dive)

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📦 Consumers Are Embracing Wonky Products

In a revolutionary shift away from conventional consumerism, a growing trend known as "wonky" shopping is challenging the status quo.

Initially sparked by the movement towards accepting imperfect fruits and vegetables, it’s an opportunity for brands to be less wasteful while allowing consumers to benefit. Now the trend has rapidly expanded to across a wide range of goods, including toys, homewares and beauty products.

Key points:

• Economic and Environmental Impact: Shoppers are finding value in products that deviate from the traditional standards of perfection. Incentives such as Love Health, Hate Waste and Oddbox are leading the charge, selling wonky products or those nearing their "best before" dates but are still safe to use, at substantial discounts. This approach not only offers economic benefits to consumers but also addresses the critical issue of waste reduction.

• Consumer Reception and Behavioural Shift: The acceptance of "wonky" goods reflects a broader cultural shift towards sustainability and waste minimisation. 77% of UK adults surveyed by YouGov last November said they’d buy Wonky next time they shop.

• Retail Innovation and Expansion: The concept of selling goods that are slightly less than perfect has sparked creativity among retailers. New business models are emerging, with companies like Boop, Wonky Coffee, and Earth and Wheat finding success by rescuing and repurposing products that would otherwise be discarded. Even major players like Amazon are also exploring this space.

The Outpost’s Opinion: The rise of "wonky" shopping is a critical step towards a more sustainable and conscious consumer culture, and I’m all for it. We’re seeing a huge rise in e-commerce stores embracing ‘wonky‘ and building businesses from it. By redefining the standards, this trend offers great incentives to consumers, retailers and entrepreneurs alike. There are countless business opportunities here for anyone looking for a new venture.

🌱 UK Fashion & Greenwashing: The CMA Is Watching…

In a significant move to combat greenwashing, three of the UK's largest fashion retailers - Asos, Boohoo, and George at Asda - have committed to overhauling how they advertise the environmental aspects of their clothing.

This comes after a crackdown by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which accused the retail brands of misleading consumers with vague and overstated green claims. Let’s break it down…

What is Greenwashing? 

Greenwashing is a deceptive practice where companies overstate or fabricate the environmental benefits of their products to appear more eco-friendly than they truly are.

Why Do Brands Do This?

Brands engage in greenwashing to capitalise on the growing consumer demand for sustainable goods, particularly amongst Gen Z and Millennials, aiming to enhance their appeal to these audiences without making significant ecological improvements. This not only misleads consumers but also undermines the credibility of genuinely sustainable initiatives, hindering the progress toward environmental sustainability.

Key Points:

• Clear and Honest Green Claims: Under the new agreements, the retailers have vowed to use only "accurate and clear" language when making environmental claims. This means providing straightforward information about the sustainability of their products, avoiding ambiguous terms, and ensuring that any eco-friendly assertions are not misleading.

• Avoiding Misleading Imagery: One of the critical aspects of the agreement is the prohibition of using misleading imagery, such as pictures of green leaves, that might imply a product is more eco-friendly than it actually is. This measure is aimed at preventing companies from unduly influencing consumer perception with visual cues that don't accurately reflect the product's environmental impact.

• Setting a New Benchmark: The CMA's action and the subsequent agreements set a new standard for the fashion industry's marketing practices. Sarah Cardell, the CMA’s CEO, emphasised that this should serve as a wake-up call for the entire sector, encouraging all brands to scrutinise and improve their green marketing practices to avoid greenwashing.

The Outpost’s Opinion: This has been a long time coming in the fight against greenwashing within the fashion industry. It’s a step in the right direction and will force other brands to review their strategies. After being critically analysed for their misleading practices, ASOS, George and Boohoo will now have to lead by example in their role of committing to transparency and accuracy in environmental claims. Good job CMA.

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😊 Emo: The Robot Making Huge Advances For Nonverbal Communication

We touched earlier on OpenAI’s new tool that can clone your voice… But this robot will enhance the nonverbal communication capabilities in robots - and it too is pretty impressive.

The Creative Machines Lab at Columbia Engineering has introduced Emo, a human-like, robotic face that can anticipate human expressions, specifically smiles, before they fully manifest. This development marks a significant leap forward in the field of human-robot interaction (HRI), challenging the traditional boundaries between emotional intelligence and artificial intelligence.

Key points:

• Anticipatory Interaction: Unlike conventional robots, Emo can anticipate a forthcoming smile approximately 840 milliseconds before it occurs, enabling it to respond with a co-expression that feels natural and genuine.

• Mechanical Complexity: Emo is equipped with 26 actuators beneath a soft silicone skin, allowing it to exhibit a broad range of nuanced facial expressions.

• Emotional Depth: High-resolution cameras embedded within the eyes of the robot enable it to make eye contact, further enhancing the realism and depth of its interactions.

  

The Outpost’s Opinion: Emo represents a ground-breaking advance in the quest to humanise technology, offering a glimpse into a future where robots can anticipate our emotions and respond in kind. This innovation not only further lays the foundation for human-robot interaction but also paves the way for a new era of empathy and understanding in the realm of artificial intelligence.