Synthetic media is developing apace, and in tandem with the rise of virtual and augmented reality, it will cause us to evaluate what we consider to be ‘real’ when videos, voice, text and data can all be so easily manipulated. (WGSN)
Virtual and physical realities will increasingly be on equal footing, and the line between the two will blur.
Deepfake formats are rising fast: there were more than 85,000 deepfake videos circulating online in 2020, up from 15,000 in 2019, and Avatarify, a DIY deepfake app, had more than 6m downloads between February and the end of March 2021. Synthetic media is expanding beyond video to include text, voice and data, and it is finding applications in enterprise (training videos, dubbed pitches) as well as entertainment.
The fashion industry should ideally be moving away from a model that relies solely on achieving economic success from the manufacture of products, to considering a model of practice that incorporates, for example, product-service combinations including leasing, repair and alteration services and take-back schemes. This will require those working in the fashion industry to explore new, more radical approaches to the design and production process in relation to how garments will be used, maintained, reused and eventually recycled in a circular system.
The Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition at the Tate Modern encourage the participation of all ages to be a part of the exhibition and also to convey brand concept. I would like to take this example and incorporate it into my plan, so that younger age groups can participate in eco-friendly luxury fashion events, and encourage their learning of sustainability.
Advising gatherings whose goals were to be transformative for the people involved and the communities they were trying to affect.
Gatherings crackle and flourish when real thought goes into them, when(often invisible) structure is baked into them, and when a host has the curiosity, willingness, and generosity of spirit to try.
MA Arts and Enterprise * Gallery Climate Coalition
I attended an event organized by CSM MA Arts and Culture Enterprise * Gallery Climate Coalition ’Towards Environmentally Responsibly Exhibition Making’ on 28th of July. One of the speakers who is working in Bangladesh uses local materials (i.e bamboo) for her events. This has inspired me for my project. Another problem addressed in the talk mentioned the issue of storage for events, which directly relates to transportation. However there isn’t a solution to this issue. Therefore I would like to hopefully work on collapsible products to be used in events.
In 2021, Earth Overshoot Day fell on July 29, leaving businesses and consumers on ecological deficit for the rest of the year. As we continue to live beyond the planet’s limitations, brands will need to rethink strategies for combining profit with ecological value.
As discussed in our Sustainability Forecast 2024, the time window to address the climate emergency is extremely limited and businesses must act now. In 2021, we unpacked the concept of regenerative business – an approach in which brands evolve beyond sustainability and net-neutrality towards regeneration and net-positivity. As we move ahead, brands must accelerate the shift towards a new economic system to regenerate the planet and profits through new strategies and operations.
Regenerative capitalism is an economic approach in which brands employ regenerative economic practices to repair the ecological damage that commercial activities have made on the planet. To achieve resilience and long-term viability, business needs to regenerate economic, ecological and social systems, explains John Elkington, a global authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. Proactive brands are already implementing these systems: in 2021, outdoor brand and leader in green capitalism Patagonia stopped using the word ‘sustainability’ and adopted ‘regeneration’ instead. This approach leads to a new economic era in which ecological, social and economic value will be regenerative and interdependent. Regenerative capitalism provides solutions for future-proofing, enabling brands to tackle the climate emergency while maintaining business.
Almost 43% of our respondents said they constantly think about how they can reduce their carbon footprint, reduce waste and decrease environmental impact, while 52.5% said thinking about climate change affects their mood or gives them anxiety. “It’s often easier to purchase items that are convenient for our 18-month old daughter and I have extreme guilt about these choices on a daily basis, and am constantly feeling anxiety about the amount of waste we produce as a family,” said Kate, 39, in Long Beach.
Additionally, in a global survey of 10,000 young people aged 16 to 25, 60% said they felt very worried or extremely worried about climate change and 45% said these feelings impacted their daily lives. In February, The New York Times reported the rise of ecopsychology, a growing area of therapy helping people cope with eco-anxiety.
Ecopsychologists say one of the best ways to fight climate anxiety is action, so in addition to having a sound sustainability strategy brands should give consumers a chance to help. Belgian-owned, Mexico-brewed beer brand Corona launched the Plastic Fishing Tournament, a series of events held around the world to remove plastic debris from the ocean and raise awareness of marine plastic pollution. US soy milk brand Silk offered free group eco-counselling sessions with its climate counsellor, Dr Debbie C Sturm.
Brands, who often have close daily connections with consumers, have an opportunity to team up with local governments to provide more resources. For example, US-based PepsiCo put $35m into the Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund, an initiative that offers small-scale, modular recycling systems in communities across the US.
