text:
Orijit Sen is still awaiting a reply from fashion house Christian Dior after it allegedly ripped off his design for a dress of its own.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery — but it looks like many designers might not agree with this famed quote by one of the most famous designers, Coco Chanel. With the cases of fashion designers and the biggest labels being accused of copying designs growing each day, designers have now decided to name and shame them on social media.
A recent case that has come to light is that of Dior, who has been accused of plagiarising a design created by an Indian studio, People Tree. This came to light after Sonam Kapoor was featured on a magazine cover this month wearing a red-coloured corset dress with ‘The print of yogis’, a design that was originally created by artist Orijit Sen, co-founder of People Tree. The dress had made its runway debut as part of Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Resort ’18 show for Dior, before making its way to Sonam’s wardrobe.
Orijit, said he, created the design around 18 years ago and was shocked when he noticed the dress Sonam wore with his design on it.
“I am putting together a letter to Christian Dior seeking an explanation for its behaviour. They have to provide us with a clear account of creating the design,” he says.
The design in question is the print of yogis, which had been created in association with Rajasthani handblock printers as part of a series.
“It is not practical for us to take a patent for so many designs. Legally, the copyright rests with the creator. If I say it is my design and I don’t have a copyright for it, I have to be able to prove that I am the creator,” says Orijit.
He adds, “It is a big blow to the artisans and people who work with Indian designers. Although I am the one who is going to take action, I feel I am taking an action on behalf of all the artisans and craftsmen. It’s their livelihood which gets impacted by this kind of blatant plagiarism.”
Meanwhile, Orijit has been getting a lot of support on social media after he shared a photo of the corset dress Sonam wore, alongside a photo of an apparel with his print. He wrote, “Despite the massive resources at your command, do you still need to rip off from people who make original work while struggling to pay their rents from month to month?” He further wrote, “I’d like to set an example here — so these mega brands with mega budgets think twice before plagiarising the work of small independent creators with impunity. It happens all the time. It must be halted! #Dior #Designparasites”
“I am grateful for all the support and solidarity that I have been getting from the fashion community and people who have been our customers, among others. They are all seeking an explanation from Dior,” he says adding, “Now it is a question of hearing from Christian Dior. I need to know what is its take on this. With the kind of resources that Dior has, why does it need to copy a design?”
Diet Prada, an Instagram account which highlights copycats in the fashion industry globally also took note, and shared the account of Dior lifting Orijit’s work.


text:
Nectar has brought together its loyalty programme and B2B agency i2C to help brands better understand, reach and engage with their customers, and give a clear view of exactly who their customers are and what they buy.
The offering from Sainsbury’s loyalty platform, dubbed Nectar 360, claims to offer loyalty, insights and data-driven marketing services and promises it will “deliver value to both sides”.
For 19 million customers, this means receiving more personalised offers and rewards from brands. For Nectar’s 400-plus clients, this means having access to a broader set of data and wider suite of channels, which aims to help them engage customers in a more targeted way.
This means that, for example, a brand like eBay, which has been a partner of Nectar for a number of years, can see how its customers interact across Sainsbury’s businesses, including what they are buying. eBay customers, meanwhile, can expect to receive offers via Sainsbury’s channels.
A proposition with Sky, meanwhile, means customers are able to spend their points through Sky Store, as well as earn points if they take out certain Sky services such as broadband and TV.
“Bringing it together as one marketing agency aligns the best of those worlds,” Nectar 360’s managing director James Moir tells Marketing Week.
“It’s relevant for customers because we have made sure we’ve found exactly the right audience; it’s great for brands because they can now reach their customers in a new way. We’re able to talk to specific groups of customers that would find that relevant through the Sainsbury’s channels and store estates.”
Nectar 360, which has a 250-strong team at launch, has access to 19 different media channels, including Sainsbury’s online and the Argos website.
Since relaunching last year, the digital Nectar platform has attracted more than 3.5 million unique users. Nectar says around 10,000 shoppers are signing up every day, but Moir is realistic that it won’t get all 19 million of its customers to make the transition.
“We will continue to drive awareness of the proposition,” he says. “We will also continue to invest in the app to keep it interesting and engaging for customers.”
Elsewhere, with Google’s third-party cookie ban set to come into play next year, Nectar is looking to build its own digital advertising platform.
“If you look at ad tech today, we really are going to have to go through some very significant changes, especially with some of the recent announcements,” Moir says.
“We have to take that incredible first-party data we have and work with brands and agencies to use that in the right way to be able to serve up more relevant, targeted and personalised advertising to consumers.”

domain: news


text:
Auburn Hills — Dodge will unleash Hellcat-mania on the 2015 Woodward Dream Cruise next week with thrill rides and a chance for one racer to take home a 707-horsepower Hellcat engine.
The mainstream performance brand has events scheduled from next Wednesday through Saturday along Woodward, but an opening event in Pontiac and grand finale in Royal Oak will likely be turning the most heads.
“This year we’re going to the absolute next level,” said Dodge CEO and President Tim Kuniskis, who last year unveiled the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat prior to the annual car cruise extravaganza.
Roadkill Nights — hosted by TEN Network and presented by Dodge — will kick off the week for the Fiat Chrysler brand at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Pontiac Silverdome, a few miles from Woodward.
The free event will feature consumers competitively racing on a custom-built 1/8th mile track on a first-come, first-race basis; thrill rides with professional drivers in 707-horsepower Dodge Charger and Challenger SRT Hellcats and Dodge Viper SRTs; and a time competition that will award the fastest Dodge vehicle owner a Hellcat engine with transmission and wiring harness.
“Nothing’s ever been done like this,” Kuniskis said. “It’s out of control.”
Interested drag race and attendees should register online at www.roadkill.com/events. A vehicle must be inspected between noon and 3 p.m. to participate in the racing and drivers must comply with event rules and regulations.


text:
Whispers of Porsche's upcoming turbocharged four-cylinder boxer engine are gathering pace, with a fresh report out of Europe suggesting the engine will surface by the end of the year.
Enthusiast site flat-6news suggests that the new unit will replace the existing Boxster and Cayman six-cylinder engines, with two states of tune likely to cover entry and S variants.
Porsche is yet to confirm plans, but this latest report contrasts with earlier whispers that the turbo unit would be sold alongside the existing naturally aspirated six-cylinder units, via a new 'Turbo' range-topper.
A naturally-aspirated version is also expected in 2015 to sit beneath a new cut-price Boxster model, but the report suggests the engine will break cover in single-turbo guise.
The move would make sense: lower-capacity four-cylinder engines will enable Porsche to improve fuel efficiency and emissions beyond the improvements already extracted from the six-cylinder engines, without sacrificing performance.
A capacity of 2.5 litres is expected, and will effectively be a four-cylinder version of the aluminium 3.8 litre six found in the current 911 Carrera S.
With direct injection, Porsche's Vario Cam Plus, and the aforementioned turbocharger, outputs upwards of 261kW/488Nm are expected, which would signify a genuine step up from the existing 205kW 2.7 litre and 242kW 3.4 litre sixes.
It also remains unclear whether Porsche's dual-clutch PDK auto will be the sole transmission choice, although a healthy demand for self-shifters on the US market is likely to help the case for six-speed manual variants.
Watch for the new engine to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
- Interested in buying PORSCHE ? Visit our PORSCHE showroom for more information.


text:
What's going on with autos? It seems the industry's world has been turned on its head -- and quickly. The traditionally less dominant are dominating, while the traditionally strongest are stumbling. We learn today that Ford had an incredible year, while GM's bankruptcy troubles nabbed many 2009 headlines. Hyundai's performance last year was tremendous, and Toyota is in the midst of a huge, embarrassing product recall. Are we in for a new auto industry paradigm?
First, the news. Here's a blurb on Ford's impressive success, via CNN Money:
Ford Motor reported its first full-year profit since 2005 and said it expects to be profitable again in 2010.
The automaker, which has outpaced the turnaround at both its domestic and some overseas rivals, said Thursday that it earned $2.7 billion in 2009.
How big a reversal is that? This big:
And Hyundai just keeps gaining market share. MarketWatch says:
Hyundai Motor Co. Thursday reported its net profit nearly quadrupled in the fourth-quarter from the year before, as improving economic conditions and tax incentives by various countries boosted vehicle sales in and outside South Korea. Net income for the quarter-ended December surged to 945.5 billion won ($814 million), according to reported figures, beating analysts' median estimate of 828.6 billion won in a Factset Research survey. Sales grew 9.3% to 9.65 trillion won.
I've written about Hyundai's recent success a few times. It's partially because consumers in this bad economy are looking for bargains, and few can beat Hyundai's prices. But its more recent push for higher quality has also alleviated many people's fears about its vehicles' dependability.
Then there's Toyota. It's recalling millions of its autos due to bad gas pedals. How widespread is this problem? The Detroit Free Press reports:
Toyota and its dealers face the daunting prospect of being unable to sell models that made up 58% of Toyota's U.S. sales last year for an unknown period of time until the company and the U.S. government agree on a way to prevent Toyota's accelerator pedals from sticking.
And I don't even need to get into GM, because everyone is familiar with its problems. Until the company is released from the government's control, people will be very wary about purchasing its vehicles.
So what does it all mean? That this is the perfect time for Ford and Hyundai to eat into the enormous market shares of GM and Toyota. And that's exactly what's already beginning to occur. I'd expect more of the same in 2010. We should see an even more competitive auto market going forward.


text:
The head of Nissan was caught in financial fraudSeptember 7, 2019
Prior to this, he accused of concealing income and misuse of funds of Carlos Ghosn
Nissan’s audit committee conducted an internal investigation and found that the head of the company, Hiroto Saikawa in 2013, received an overpriced reward. A top manager abused a stock-linked payout program developed with the participation of Carlos Ghosn.
The investigation revealed that Saikawa and a number of senior Nissan employees took advantage of the loophole in the company’s internal procedures to get additional rewards. The scheme was invented during the “era of Ghosn” and allowed the current leadership to “earn” tens of millions of yen.
Immediately after the detention of Carlos Ghosn, Tokyo District Attorney Hiroto Saikawa announced that he would require the board of directors to resign him immediately. The current head of Nissan sharply criticized the former chairman of the alliance and accused him of using the company’s assets for personal purposes.
Saikawa admitted to violating the law, apologized and promised to return all illegally received funds. At the same time, in one interview, he said that he received rewards by mistake, and in another that he did not directly participate in the implementation of the fraudulent scheme, and all payments were made in strict accordance with corporate standards.
The investigation was initiated after a former Nissan board member, Greg Kelly, told Japanese magazine Bungei Shunju how, in 2013, management exceptionally moved the implementation date of the so-called “revaluation rights” to a predetermined one, which allowed Saikawa to earn an additional 47 million yen. According to Kelly’s lawyer, Saikawa himself asked for this in order to buy property in Tokyo.
Now the fate of the top manager will be decided by the Nissan Disciplinary Committee. At the same time, the scandal with an overestimation of the amount of remuneration can undermine the position of Saikawa as the company’s general director.
- Tesla wants to license its autopilot software
- Rimac said he would do with the purchased Bugatti
- The queue for the Toyota Land Cruiser stretches for 4 years
- Mazda patented eight new brands
- 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 to officially debut on October 26


text:
California enacts new data broker regulations
The California governor recently signed SB 362 (the “Act”), which will impose regulations on data brokers by allowing consumers to request the deletion of their personal data that was collected. The Act will allow the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) to create an “accessible deletion mechanism” to make a streamlined method for consumers to delete their collected information available by January 1, 2026.
Among other amendments, businesses that meet the definition of a data broker will be required to register every year with the CPPA, instead of with the attorney general. Additionally, the Act requires data brokers to provide more information during its yearly registration, including: (i) if they collect the personal information of minors; (ii) if the data broker collects consumers’ precise geolocation; (iii) if they collect consumers’ reproductive health care data; (iv) “[b]eginning January 1, 2029, whether the data broker has undergone an audit as described in subdivision (e) of Section 1798.99.86, and, if so, the most recent year that the data broker has submitted a report resulting from the audit and any related materials to the California Privacy Protection Agency”; and (v) a link on its website with details on how consumers may delete their personal information, correct inaccurate personal information, learn what personal information is collected and how it is being used, learn how to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information, learn how to access their collected personal information, and learn how to limit the use and disclosure of their sensitive personal information. Moreover, administrative fines for violations of the Act, payable to the CPPA, have increased from $100 to $200, and data brokers that fail to delete information for each deletion request face a penalty of $200 per day the information is not deleted.
The Act further requires that data brokers submit a yearly report of the number of requests received for consumer information deletion, and the number of requests denied. The yearly report must also include the median and mean number of days in which the data broker responded to those requests.


text:
Posted in: Archive
As a viable Skype competitor, and a strategic product in Google’s growing army of mobile technologies, Google Voice first hit the U.S. market last year, allowing people to make calls right from within their Gmail account at competitive rates. This week, the service began a phased international rollout, with Google announcing earlier this month that it’s now available to 150 countries (in 38 different languages).
The UK rollout is now (at least partially) live, and I was able to trial the service from within my Gmail account earlier today. Calls to UK mobiles are priced at £0.07p, less than half Skype’s (£0.15p) rate. The quality of the call was superb, and it’s definitely worth investigation from both a business, and personal use perspective as a serious Skype competitor. In comparison with some of the carriers rates for landline to mobile calls, it’s an absolute no brainer.
Some of the additional technologies that Google Voice brings to the table also make it attractive. For example, voicemails are automatically transcribed to text with voice recognition technologies. This means you could for example, choose to read messages rather than listen to them whilst watching a movie, or if you are in a noisy place.
Google voice is also available on Android and iPhone mobile devices, however, I personally wasn’t able to get this up and running alongside the desktop version. (This is either on the horizon, or I’m being an idiot – you guys may have more success).
It will be interesting to see if Google decide to release a home phone product, that allows both traditional calls, AND internet based ones to compliment their Google Voice strategy. At least here in Ireland, even with mobile phone adoption as high as it is, it doesn’t seem like regular landlines are going anywhere anytime soon.


text:
Friends Provident has expanded its intermediary arm after acquiring the Sesame Group and Pantheon Financial.
The move will see the company expand its focus on retail and ultra high net worth advisory businesses, having never wholly owned an advisory firm previously.
Misys has sold Sesame to the insurer for £75m though further payments may be made at a later date.
Pantheon has been bought for an upfront fee of £16.8m with further potential payments again possible over the next three years.
Simon Clamp, Friends Provident managing director of marketing and UK distribution, says the acquisitions are the latest moves in a six-year mission to invest in the distribution market.
He says the firm took minority stakes in firms at the beginning of the century before enlarging those stakes following depolarisation in 2003.
Today’s announcement involves 100% purchases of both firms and is testament to the company’s commitment to the market.
Clamp says the firm was aware of Misys’ attempts to offload Sesame, and of Sesame’s recent £330,000 fine by the FSA for shortcomings in treating customers fairly.
He also says both Sesame and Pantheon will continue to operate independently retaining their current brands.
Ben Gunn, a director of Friends Provident, said: “We are delighted with the opportunity to acquire these high quality, profitable brands and their talented management teams.
“Friends Provident is committed to maintaining and supporting a healthy intermediated sector which is our primary access to market.”
Patrick Gale, chief executive of Sesame, adds: “As a major financial services company, Friends Provident is a logical and natural owner to provide the support for us to drive our future aspirations.”
James Kaberry, chief executive of Pantheon Financial, says: “This is a major step forward for our company and the next phase of growth for the business, its clients and its people.”
If you have any comments you would like to add to this story or would like to speak to its author about a similar subject, telephone Scott Sinclair on 020 7034 2636 or email [email protected]IFAonline
Square Mile’s series of informal interviews
Achievements, charity work and other happy snippets
Latest news and analysis
69% of general population


text:
Epson MEA speaks on developments in digital label printing
Click on image to download high resolution version
By Akanksha Meena, editor
The label industry in the Middle East played an integral role in the healthcare, retail, warehousing and logistics sectors during the pandemic which helped it stay afloat and even grow. Here, Abderrazek Hakimi, sales manager - business systems solutions, Epson Middle East, talks about the latest trends and developments in the MEA label industry.
Hakimi says that the pandemic has been a driving force behind the rapid development of label converters in the region.
‘Businesses evolved as a result of the pandemic, some of these were manufacturing urgent products such as hand sanitizers and medical supplies. Many businesses had to change their business model to supply to online delivery, where none was previously offered, and this increased opportunities for label production,’ he explains.
Epson MEA observes a trend towards remote or online ordering of label products and custom-made labels for specific customers or brands, which is creating a growing demand for digital print technology.
‘Epson’s focus for digital label printing has been an ongoing effort for over a decade, from on-demand, inkjet to customized printing. Digital printing is the new norm, as it allows businesses the flexibility to print almost anywhere at any time and on any scale,’ Hakimi adds.
Opportunities brought by Covid-19
Hakimi says that the pandemic has brought opportunities to digital label and packaging converters to serve a market demand that never existed before.
‘For instance, the rise of labeling for Covid-19-related products such as hand sanitizers or even pre-printed label stickers for social distancing. Epson Middle East was able to tap into this new market, both through digital label products using fast-drying, durable color inks, and large format printers, allowing printing on several materials,’
While digital label printing is growing globally, the Middle East is a diverse market, with each country within the region advancing at its own pace according to local market demand and requirements. UAE and Saudi Arabia are the key players in the regional market, with increasing demands for the higher quality labels and prints for luxury and food and beverage manufacturers. Hakimi also sees growing investment in Egypt’s industrial and manufacturing sectors.
Hakimi sees a good potential for digital label printing, but also the need to raise awareness and educate converters on the benefits it brings.
Developments at Epson MEA
Epson Middle East has been working closely with a wide range of end-users.
‘Just recently, Epson has installed the ColorWorks TM-C7500G inkjet label printer to support an end-user with its manufacturing processes and the ColorWorks TM-C3500 printer for a retail group in Egypt for printing price tags and small labels,’ adds Hakimi.
The company is using remote training and maintenance for its channel partners. On-site visits are conducted in line with government guidelines if an issue is critical.
‘Rest assured we are still here to support all our partners and customers as readily as we were before. As we have all found, the physical distance has actually bought us closer in many ways. The pandemic has forced us to realize that we can do this just as effectively remotely in many cases, saving resources, time and reducing our carbon footprint.’


text:
Pretty soon we may have to share our sidewalks with delivery robots.
Last year in January doordash as well as postmates, announced a partnership with robotic delivery developer starship technologies. Doordash has already began trial runs in Redwood City California and even in Washington D.C. postmates has started testing out there delivery robots. Other delivery services like yelp eat24 are in on the game, they have partnered with robotics companies marble and recently Domino’s has announced test runs for pizza delivery robots in New Zealand. This is a very exciting technology but is pretty much being developed on the go, because as of right now the bots require a human to accompany them as they learn to navigate the unpredictable city streets.
Will the robots take my job away?
The idea is for the robots to take care of the deliveries that drivers typically won’t accept. Like short distance trips that just aren’t worth it for drivers, and that will leave the job open for bigger deliveries that result in more money for drivers. Right now we really shouldn’t be worried about robots taking over delivery jobs because it will still be many years before humans can establish a way for them to work in our society. And of course only humans are capable of doing deliveries in certain conditions and environments so in the end the most these robots can do is take care of orders that human drivers reject.
First these companies must consider that not every city is safe and having a fancy looking robot strolling down the street with hot warm food will cause some people to vandalize it, which would be costly for both the restaurant and delivery company. Another draw back to this technology is that the robots will only be able to deliver food to customers that are in a 2 mile radius of the restaurant. So with those limitations delivery robots are still quite a long way from being a reality, and once robots are delivering fast food and groceries we will be working with them not against them.


text:
- Artificial intelligence can make marketing more human
- Big data enables businesses to deliver a more personalised customer experience
- Chatbots and voice-first computing provide new ways of communication
- Mobile is king
- Blockchain technology can bring a more secure and transparent marketplace
The marketing sector is volatile, and businesses are constantly on the lookout for the next big thing that will push them ahead of their competition. And it’s easy to understand why technology has taken on an increasingly prominent role in this sector in recent years, forcing companies to adapt or risk being left behind.
In fact, it’s increasingly obvious that tech is the future of marketing. To better understand this trend, the mobile marketing technology developer TUNE recently conducted a survey of 350 marketers, CEOs, influencers, and industry experts, who were asked to offer their predictions about which technologies would have the most profound impact on the marketing sector in 2018. Perhaps unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence (including deep learning and machine learning) topped the list with 37.4 per cent, while 16.8 per cent of respondents chose big data as the year’s most disruptive technology. These were followed by augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality at 12.2 per cent, chatbots and messaging at 10.1 per cent, and mobile also at 10.1 per cent.
Artificial intelligence can make marketing more human
When you take a closer look at the list, it’s clear why artificial intelligence was such a popular pick. And if you include technologies that require AI to function, such as chatbots or voice-first computing, its reach extends even further. “AI and machine learning will have the most profound impact on marketing in 2018 because it will fundamentally make ‘marketing’ more human,” says Brian Solis, a principal analyst at Altimeter. Artificial intelligence allows businesses to better understand customers and their needs, personalise their experience, predict their behaviour, and communicate with them in real time.
Today’s consumers are digital natives who are media-savvy, and that’s made them impervious to conventional marketing techniques. Rather than just trying to sell them something, businesses need to find a way to reach them on a deeper, more personal level. “AI will without a doubt be the technology that has the most impact on marketing going forward as it allows marketers new capabilities to interact with a huge number of people on a personal level that could never have been done before,” says Mahi de Silva, the CEO of Botworx.ai.
Big data enables businesses to deliver a more personalised customer experience
Just like with artificial intelligence, there’s a great deal of overlap between big data and the other technologies on the list. In fact, 64 per cent of all the technologies included by the respondents are essentially data-driven. With the help of big data, businesses can keep track of their customers’ shopping habits through every channel, learn how they react to specific ads and offers, and then use this information to deliver a more personalised experience.
When combined with artificial intelligence, big data becomes an even more powerful tool. “There is little doubt that Big Data married with AI will be the marketing technology story of 2018. That powerful combination will continue to make huge strides in optimizing ad targeting, creative design, and marketing offers where results are measured with hard metrics like clicks and purchases,” says Eric Koefoot, the CEO of PublicRelay. For example, Amazon uses a sophisticated recommendation engine to create a more personalised consumer experience and drive sales. By analysing users’ purchase history, the things they’ve liked, rated, viewed, or purchased in the past, as well as the items in their shopping cart, the engine’s algorithms can offer them more relevant product recommendations. According to Amazon, the recommendation engine generates more than 35 per cent of the company’s sales.
Chatbots and voice-first computing provide new ways of communication
The growing popularity of Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and the Google Assistant is a clear sign that consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with this form of interaction. This development hasn’t gone unnoticed by marketers, who are adopting intelligent conversational chatbots and using them to communicate with consumers in real time, building more intimate relationships with them.
With voice-first computing, businesses can take this relationship to a whole new level, allowing consumers to make purchases without even lifting a finger. Around 39 million Americans now own a voice-assisted device, according to a report published by NPR and Edison Research. “Smart voice systems enable marketers to connect to customers from anywhere: Car, kitchen, the bedroom, and on the go,” says Jeremiah Owyang, a principal analyst at Kaleido Insights. Voice is now considered the preferred method to search on mobile, with 40 per cent of adults using voice search at least once per day.
Mobile is king
Mobile technology may have been highlighted by only 10 per cent of respondents, but it’s arguably the most important of the lot. That’s because mobile devices are integral to almost everything we do today. “The next billion people coming onto the internet are predominantly via mobile, and we’re seeing this through the rise of mobile messaging, mobile payments, mobile-optimized and ‘lite’ websites, and focus on video, voice, and location-based context, away from heavily text-based internet,” explains Gaurav Ragtah, the founder and CEO of Profillic. Thanks to geolocation technology, businesses will be able to locate and target individual consumers with personalised, real-time offers and suggestions based on their previous shopping habits.
Augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality technologies also allow consumers to experience their favourite products from a completely new perspective and interact with them in ways that were simply unthinkable in the past. While not everyone is convinced that these technologies are the next big thing, heavy investments from major companies like Apple and Facebook suggest that they’ll assume an increasingly important role in the future.
Blockchain technology can bring a more secure and transparent marketplace
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies could also have a major impact on the future of the marketing sector. This technology has the potential to bring more security and transparency to the marketplace, bring an end to fraud, and allow consumers to protect their privacy and give them control over their data. “Advertising is full of waste, fraud and other externalities. One externality is that people’s privacy is being stolen and money is made selling that to advertisers,” says Miko Matsumura, the founder of Evercoin. More and more businesses are now adopting blockchain technology, and we can expect this trend to continue in the future as well.
Technology has already transformed many different aspects of modern business, and marketing is set to become the next. By adopting technologies like artificial intelligence, big data, voice-first computing, and many others, businesses will be able to better understand their customers, form stronger relationships with them, provide new ways of communication, and deliver a more personalised experience.


text:
The FDA has gone after Biosense, a health startup that makes uCheck, an automated urine analyzer sold directly to end customers. You pee on a strip then use the uChek iPhone app to take a picture and analyze the contents of your urine for health info like glucose. Biosense claims that it can help detect up to 25 diseases, like diabetes, pre-clampsia, and urinary tract infection.
A letter has been sent to Biosense from FDA about its home kit + iPhone app product asking why Biosense hasn’t gotten uCheck officially sanctioned by the government.
UChek works with test strips made by Siemens AG and Bayer AG, which are only approved for visual reading and require new clearance for automated analysis, the FDA said in the letter. The agency has said it wants stricter rules for apps that directly diagnose or treat conditions, proposing in 2011 to apply similar quality standards as for heart stents, ultrasound machines and other medical devices.
“We intend to finalize the guidance this year,” Synim Rivers, an agency spokeswoman, said yesterday in an e-mail. “The FDA has proposed a regulatory approach that limits its immediate oversight to a specific, small subset of mobile medical applications that are medical devices and present the greatest risk to patient safety if they don’t work as intended.”
This is obviously a sensitive area as companies like Biosense are disrupting an incredibly expensive and profitable healthcare industry that’s rooted in regulation. The FDA doesn’t want uCheck upsetting all of the other companies that are making high-end equipment that does the same thing. Just another example of how smartphones are disrupting the world around us.
The uCheck iPhone app is available for free in the App Store, and the accompanying kit costs $40.


text:
Photo: Osbaldo Estrada, 46, tried to rob a Texas 7-Eleven
A Texas Latino was arrested after he robbed a convenience store, threatening the clerk with a blow torch, before running out with the money.
Osbaldo Estrada, 42, was taken to El Paso County Jail after he stole money from a local 7-Eleven store in El Paso by waving an ignited blow torch at the store employee.
The clerk managed to get out of the store and wave down a police officer, telling him a man was in the store with the torch. The officer then spotted Estrada fleeing the scene, gave chase and caught up with Estrada. The blow torch was also recovered.
The Central El Paso man was booked on a $150,000 bond, is now facing an aggravated robbery charge.
The store clerk made it through the incident without injury.


text:
You know you're paying too much for all sorts of things. But just how much?
You know you're overpaying for all sorts of things. Forbes magazine shows you just how much, listing the top 20 ways consumers are getting ripped off.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Jim Thurston/Wikimedia Commons
Courtesy St. Ermin's
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Sign up for Breaking News, Daily Headlines, Severe Weather Alerts & more!


text:
The incessant debate over mobile payment standards, the seemingly endless stream of “let’s throw this against the wall to see if it sticks” product launches, the will it/won’t it debate over Apple payments has obscured a simple truth: several mobile payments companies are already selling their wares — successfully.
- BankMobile Partners with Vasco for Safer Mobile Transactions - https://t.co/tuaCzDZWwy BankMobile, a mobile-first.… https://t.co/MezSxj7Ei3 21 mins ago
- Key to Mobile Wallet Adoption: Partnerships, According to Chase - https://t.co/r4vgughBvd Despite the rapid rollo.… https://t.co/qmzYCMbH0Y 2 hours ago
- .@USBank COO talks tech spending, blockchain projects, and digital transactions https://t.co/MLQsNvcECM 23 hours ago
Bank Innovation Portfolio


text:
These stars, who can afford any vehicle under the sun, chose the earth-friendly Toyota Prius-EPA-rated at 60 mpg/city and 51 mpg/highway-to be ogled in. Toyota Motor Sales USA sold 53,991 of the gas-electric engine hybrids last year, every model it could squeeze out of production. That was more than double the 2003 sales of 24,627. Plans call to produce about 100,000 Prius sedans this year.
About 30% of current sales of the Toyota hybrid, which has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $20,875, are in energy-focused California. Other high-profile celebrity endorsers such as Tom Hanks, Don Cheadle, Ed Begley Jr., Leonardo DiCaprio and singer Sting help the environmental cause-and Prius sales at the same time.
Toyota partners with Global Green USA, the U.S. affiliate of Mikhail Gorbachev's non-profit Green Cross International, and BIG Imagination Group, Culver City, Calif., to coordinate events such as the Oscars and Emmys. The carmaker, however, says it doesn't solicit or pay for the celebrity endorsements.
"Quite the opposite. It's the passion of people in Hollywood for the environment. They're really doing this because deep in their hearts they believe in it," says Jim Lentz, group VP-marketing at Toyota Division. Mr. Lentz is trying to evolve the Prius brand through a more emotional connection with future buyers, and he notes that "word-of-mouth advertising works extremely well" for Prius.
Automakers expect to sell more than 200,000 hybrid vehicles this year in the U.S., according to auto analyst J.D. Power & Associates. Anthony Pratt, senior analyst with J.D. Power in Detroit, predicts Toyota will take 60% of that market, led by Prius.
"The real advantage of Prius is the statement buyers make driving it," Mr. Pratt says. "It's important for them to be seen in a hybrid-the only true hybrid. We expect Prius to do very well. Toyota says they will sell 100,000 units this year. We have no reason not to believe them."
More people know Prius improves fuel economy and helps keep the air clean than when the brand launched, Mr. Lentz says, noting, "The first generation were early adopters; now we will cross the chasm into the mainstream."
Toyota sold 5,600 Priuses during the 2000 launch year, mostly to people who love new gadgets and technology. Prius came on the heels of American Honda Motor Co.'s 1999 debut of the two-seater Insight. In 2003, Honda added the Civic Hybrid, the first high-volume, mainstream hybrid, and this year a gas-electric Accord rolled out.
Production lags have put Prius advertising in a holding pattern, Toyota marketing executives say. More than 20,000 orders sit in dealer banks, leaving some customers waiting six months for delivery, Mr. Lentz says.
long waits a problem
The long waits have prompted Toyota to cut back on advertising, not wanting to rile customers.
Toyota spent $5 million to advertise Prius during the first three quarters of 2004, via Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles, Torrance, Calif. That compares with $29 million both in the 2000 launch year and in 2003, according to TNS Media Intelligence.
Honda, meanwhile, spent $11 million in the nine-month 2004 period on the Civic Hybrid, and the same amount for full-year 2003, the hybrid's launch year. Rubin Postaer & Associates, Santa Monica, Calif., handles. So if there's such a backlog, why not step up production?
"The engine's fairly complex, so there's not as much flexibility to move production around," Mr. Lentz responds. "With the Corolla you can move product around far easier plant to plant." The hybrid has more complicated lead times since it uses specialized parts and requires specially trained workers, he says.
"We'll play [marketing] by ear until production volume increases," he says. "We continue to rely on word-of-mouth and Web site visitors."
Marketing is not at a standstill, however.
Some magazine advertising has run, and Toyota conducted an "Engines of Change Tour" in 15 U.S. cities last fall, introducing its second-generation Hybrid Synergy Drive to opinion leaders including government, media and environmental groups. The technology combines a 1.5-liter, four-cylinder gas engine and an electric-drive motor.
It's a good time to be green and automotive. Anxiety about uncontrolled energy costs and pollution are starting to fuel consumer appetites for hybrid cars. Government incentives also are helping. A $2,000 federal tax exemption is on the books, and many states have tax credits.
"As we go more mainstream, it may take government assistance to help people buy hybrids," Mr. Lentz says. "It's the only answer that provides solutions for both gas [prices] and pollution. That's the true magic of hybrids."
Carmakers are gearing up to accommodate. About 50 hybrid nameplates will appear in the next five years, according to the Automotive Technology Group. That's nearly 1 million units a year, from 85,000-100,000 today.
Building on Prius' success, Toyota Motor Sales USA will introduce two hybrid sport-utility vehicles this year: the Lexus RX 400h and Toyota Highlander. Toyota's top-selling Camry reportedly will be offered as a hybrid in 2006.
The Lexus hybrid seen at auto shows nationwide is slated for an April debut, touted as the world's first luxury SUV hybrid. First announced at the 2003 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Lexus hybrid has faced launch delays. According to Toyota officials, a "late 2004" launch target was set early on. "But it was just that-a target. Once we got into the final development stage and then the pre-production phase [November 2004], we were better able to pinpoint the launch date," says Cindy Knight, environmental communications administrator at Toyota Motor Sales USA.
The Highlander goes hybrid in time for June sales. Both vehicles will run on V-6 engines, demonstrating the adaptability of Toyota's hybrid engines. Highlander already has 100,000 "hand-raisers," or consumers who've expressed interest in the new hybrid, say Toyota insiders.
Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. also have announced hybrid initiatives. The 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid launched this year; Ford plans to sell 20,000 units in '05. GM is introducing hybrids into its truck and small car platform, which it calls a bridge to fuel cell and other alternative fuel technology.
In addition, GM and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group in December announced a joint initiative to build full-size hybrid SUVs by 2007-2008. The vehicles named were the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon in late 2007, followed by the Dodge Durango after that.
But the race is clearly between Honda and Toyota at this stage.
"Strong true hybrids are really what people want," Mr. Lentz says. "We will continue to market this as a solution."


text:
Fiat Chrysler shares tumble as 2019 guidance disappoints
MILAN (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler (FCA) shares fell 11 percent on Thursday after weaker-than-expected guidance for profits and industrial free cash flow this year raised doubts about the Italian-American carmaker’s longer-term targets.
The world’s seventh-largest carmaker said it expected to report 2019 adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) - excluding the Magneti Marelli unit it has agreed to sell - of more than 6.7 billion euros ($7.6 billion).
That is below analysts’ average forecast of 7.3 billion euros and suggests little improvement on 2018, when FCA reported an adjusted EBIT on the same basis of 6.7 billion euros.
The company is guiding for industrial free cash flow of more than 1.5 billion euros, which is lower than the 4.4 billion euros reached at the end of last year, due to higher capital expenditure, cash payments for fines and other costs related to its U.S. settlement for diesel emissions infringements.
The 2019 guidance also raises doubts over the 2020 forecasts the carmaker gave in June when late boss Sergio Marchionne promised to deliver an adjusted EBIT of 9.2-10.4 billion euros.
Last year’s results came in roughly in line with analysts’ expectations, with North America again accounting for the lion’s share - or 85.5 percent - of profits, with margins in the region improving to 8.6 percent from 7.9 percent a year earlier.
FCA has retooled some U.S. plants to boost output of lucrative SUVs and trucks, while ending production of unprofitable sedans, and helping make up for weakness in Asia, Europe and at luxury brand Maserati.
However, the over-reliance on one region worried some analysts, especially given intense competition in the SUV and truck markets and the fact growth in the U.S. market is starting to slow.
“The U.S. market remains key for near term growth,” said Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst, adding he would be watching how the sales of higher-margin pickups and utility vehicles develop in the second part of 2019 and next year.
“We also remain concerned regarding APAC (Asia-Pacific) and Maserati,” he added.
FCA’s operations in Europe were hit by lower sales volumes and the transition towards tougher emissions tests which became mandatory from the start of September.
Chinese market weakness weighed on FCA’s performance in Asia and hit Maserati sales. The brand’s margins fell to 5.7 percent from 13.8 percent a year earlier.
Milan-listed FCA shares were down 11.3 percent at 1424 GMT, underperforming a 1.7 percent fall in Milan’s blue-chip index.


text:
According to Cydia developer Jay Freeman, the iOS 6.1 jailbreak has been used to jailbreak nearly 7 million iOS devices in its first four days, making it the most popular iOS jailbreak that has been released to date.
The 7 million figures was last week, so we suspect it is well over the 7 m,million figure by now, the figure was reported last Thursday when over 5.15 million iPhones, 1.35 million iPads and 400,000 iPod Touches had visited Cydia with the jailbreak installed.
Source ForbesFiled Under: Apple, Apple iPhone
Popular Geeky Gadgets Deals
|PureVPN Lifetime Subscription Save 88%||SNES30 Bluetooth Game Controller Save 14%||Jamstik Wireless Smart Guitar Save 40%||Getflix Lifetime Subscription Save 88%||Monster Digital 128GB Portable SSD Save 56%||Python Programming Pro Bundle Save 84%|


text:
Liv-Ex forecasts clearer skies ahead
With trading levels returning to normal after the summer break Liv-Ex sees reasons to be cheerful.
Liv-Ex reckons there may be “clearing skies ahead” for wine investors in its latest market update. Quoting the recent US$80 billion growth stimulus by the People’s Bank of China, and a record high on the Dow, the report said it “should provide a sunny backdrop to the world’s worst performing asset class – fine wine.”
Compared to all-time highs for equities, bonds and property, wine’s performance has been dismal. It was even outshone by gold whose price is up 35% in five years compared to the Livex-100 on just 4% according to Livex director, Justin Gibbs.
Garry Boom, MD of Bordeaux Index, has talked of strong export growth from his clients – up 61% in Asia and 305% in the US on H1 2013. It is true the company only opened its first American office last March, though it had been trading there for some time, selling over £2.5m of wine in 2011, the year the Bordeaux bubble burst.
“As far as I can tell Asia’s still struggling, but demand from America is definitely growing,” said Gibbs. “The biggest market – Europe, is treading water, but it’s running out of selling steam. People are beginning to think; ‘at 30% down in three years, I’m not going to sell unless I need cash’.”
Boom cites Château Haut Brion 2006 as an example of why it’s “arguably the best time in five years to buy top Bordeaux,” and Gibbs doesn’t disagree. “It’s effectively £200 a bottle which is what people are paying for Opus 1. This is a First Growth with eight years in bottle and 95 points from Parker, so yes it’s cheap. We’re getting to a point where, at a price, a lot more people can understand Bordeaux.”


text:
LONDON, October 26, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The GSMA today announced additional keynote speakers for the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress, which will be held 17-18 November at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The company also provided an update on App Planet at Mobile Asia Congress, announcing that China Mobile, Internetq and Research In Motion (RIM) will be delivering presentations as part of the App Bytes application developer conference, and outlining further detail on the Macworld Mobile developer conference at App Planet.
The Mobile Asia Congress thought leadership conference programme truly reflects the rapidly evolving and expanding mobile ecosystem, featuring leaders from mobile operators, infrastructure providers, handset makers and Internet players, as well as companies from the advertising, mobile money, health and government sectors, said Michael O'Hara, chief marketing officer, GSMA. Through our comprehensive App Planet event, we also provide the critical educational information, product insights and business development and networking opportunities for the mobile applications development community.
Newly confirmed keynote speakers for Mobile Asia Congress include:
-- Rajeev Singh-Molares, President, Asia Pacific, Alcatel-Lucent -- Richard Yu, CMO, Huawei Technologies -- Hyungchul Joo, CEO, SK Communications
Previously announced keynote speakers include:
-- Sanjay Kapoor, CEO, Bharti Airtel Ltd. -- Li Yue, President and CEO, China Mobile -- Lu Yimin, President, China Unicom -- Joseph O'Konek, CEO, CSL -- Peter Chou, CEO, HTC -- Tadashi Onodera, President and Chairman, KDDI -- Hyun-Myung Pyo, President, Mobile Business Group, KT -- Ryuji Yamada, President and CEO, NTT DOCOMO -- Dr. Nasser Marafih, CEO, Qtel -- Charles Chao, President and CEO, SINA Corporation -- Sigve Brekke, Executive Vice President, Telenor Group and Head of Telenor Asia Operations -- Shi Lirong, President, ZTE
Keynote sessions at Mobile Asia Congress will include Changing Business Realities in the World of Mobile Applications, LTE - The Dawn of a New Era for Voice and Data Services, Operator Strategies in High-Growth Markets, What Does the Future Hold for the Mobile Internet? and A Vision of 2020 - Asia's Influencers of Innovation.
In addition to the keynote programme, the conference will include breakout sessions exploring a range of topics such as applications, advertising, consumer electronics and devices, embedded mobile, media and entertainment, mGovernment, mHealth, mobile broadband, the mobile Internet and mobile money.
New Developments in App Planet at Mobile Asia Congress
Building on the success of App Planet at Mobile World Congress 2010, the GSMA is holding its application developer-focused programme at Mobile Asia Congress. Designed to bring together the many critical elements of the broad mobile application ecosystem together in one location, App Planet features the App Zone Exhibition, App Developer Conferences (ADCs), the App Planet Forum and the App Networking Lounge.
In addition to the full-day App Planet Forum conference programme on Tuesday, 16th November, App Planet will also include the App Bytes ADCs on Wednesday, 17th November and Thursday, 18th November. App Bytes is a diverse developer conference featuring sessions hosted by some of the key players and platforms in the applications market, including China Mobile, Internetq and RIM, among others.
The Macworld Mobile iOS Developer Conference, which is taking place on Wednesday, 17th November, will provide full-day, in-depth training on the iOS platform, with technical sessions, targeting tools and applications specifically designed for mobile application developers and engineers. Conference sessions in the Macworld Mobile conference include: Using Core Animation to Build Attractive Interfaces, XCode Customization, In-App Purchases, Game Center, Beyond Games, Social Media Opportunities for iOS Developers, and iOS Design for Developers: Improving the Usability and Appeal of Your Applications.
For more information on App Planet, please visit http://www.mobileasiacongress.com/appplanet.
China Mobile is the Platinum Event Sponsor and Huawei is the Gold Event Sponsor for Mobile Asia Congress. For more information on Mobile Asia Congress 2010, including details on how to attend, exhibit or sponsor, please visit http://www.mobileasiacongress.com.
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.
For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online portal for the mobile communications industry, at http://www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at http://www.gsmworld.com.
CONTACT: Daniel Lowther, +44-7747-636-687, email@example.com


text:
Mobile payments is growing rapidly in India since couple of years. Almost all commonly used apps comes with payment support in India like Hike messenger, True caller and others. And now reports say that even WhatsApp might bring the payment support by next month in India.
According to reports, WhatsApp has partnered with number of banks in India such as State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. And one of the partner bank mentioned above is already testing the new feature and the finalised stable update might be released as early as next month. This will be very much helpful to the citizens of India as WhatsApp is the most used app in the country.
Mobile payments grew more rapidly when the Indian government announced demonetization of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 currency notes in late 2016. Due to which, many of the payment apps succeeded especially Paytm. And now many commonly used apps come with payments in India thanks to UPI (Unified Payments Interface) by the Indian government. Even Google launched their own payment app named Google Tez in last year as Android Pay might take time to reach the country.
Are you excited for payments feature in WhatsApp? Comment below.


text:
A survey issued this week by the Royal Mail showed that 67% of UK residents who have moved house were concerned about ID fraud.
The survey was designed to promote the Royal Mail’s mail redirection service, but it brought into sharp focus the concerns that people have about their identity being compromised.
Information from banks, pensions provider, insurers, motor vehicle licensing agencies and others can, if in the wrong hands, be used to perpetrate ID fraud. According to the fraud prevention agency, Cifas, there were 108,500 instances of ID fraud in the UK in 2013 costing an estimated £3.3bn.
ID fraud is not a victimless crime. It can take months, even years, to repair the damage done to credit ratings by cybercriminals and victims commonly report feelings of fear and violation.
It is right, then, that the Royal Mail, and other organisations, remind the public of the dangers of ID theft and advise them on ways in which they can guard themselves against it.
However, the onus is not entirely on members of the public to guard against ID fraud. Financial services providers have to do their part too and, arguably, they are not doing enough.
ID fraud continues to be a problem because when fraudsters have access to even a small amount of information (such as a bank statement), it is reasonably straightforward to successfully apply for a financial product in someone else’s name.
The fundamental reason for this is that financial services providers still rely on traditional verification techniques when assessing applications. In the main, credit reference agency databases and the Electoral Roll are used to verify personal details such as name, address, date of birth. And when a fraudster has these data elements, they have enough to apply for a credit card, bank account or loan in someone else’s name.
The challenge is for financial services providers to start thinking seriously about how they can up their authentication game and start protecting customers.
In the era before online commerce, if a customer wanted to apply for a financial product, they would have to do so in branch and assert their identity with photo ID such as a passport or driving license. However, this process has not been well translated to the online world where today many banks ask their customer to bring their ID documents into a branch if they fail traditional data checks. The result is that a disappointing 30% of such customers ever make it in-branch to show their ID documents.
This doesn’t mean, though, that photo ID verification should be a thing of the past. Jumio’s Netverify® solution translates the age-old process of using ID documentation for the internet age thanks to computer vision technology. Customers can show their ID document to their webcam or or mobile device camera and their data is neatly extracted and populated into the account creation process whilst the ID document is authenticated in the background.
Jumio’s computer vision technology has the power to smash ID fraud, saving companies money and saving consumers hassle and anguish.


text:
Today’s Top Story
As Small Businesses Struggle And Economy Wobbles, Government Plans 30% Increase In Fuel Costs
Small businesses everywhere are desperately struggling to remain open, and wherever possible, keep their employees on the payroll. As they teeter on the edge between staying open and failure, the federal government is introducing a new regulation that will push far too many to close their doors. To address the proposed Clean Fuel Standard (CFS), this week we launched the Fresh Fuel Standard campaign, which proposes a collaborative approach between government and business to design a standard that will both create jobs and safeguard our natural world.
For Your Attention
Business Needs Women; Women Need 10 Things From Throne Speech
Canada’s economic recovery from COVID-19 will only happen if women can fully participate in the workforce. Yesterday, our Council for Women’s Advocacy issued a news release with 10 action items it wants to see addressed in the government’s Speech from the Throne to support women and facilitate their full participation in the workforce as employers and employees. If you’d like to share the Council for Women’s Advocacy’s 10 recommendations with colleagues, we have a one-pager for that.
The Business Of Business With Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton
The Business of Business is back this week with an all new episode as Hon. Perrin Beatty, our President and CEO, speaks with Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton’s President and CEO, Emilio Imbriglio, about navigating the COVID-19 world, its effects on small businesses and what he would like to hear come out of this week’s Throne Speech.
Perrin Beatty: Throne Speech Must Include A Lifeline For Restaurants
This weekend in Postmedia’s Sun newspapers our President and CEO, Hon. Perrin Beatty, wrote about the crisis that is continuing to grip our restaurants and what we’ll be watching for in the Throne Speech. Restaurateurs are proud to stand together during this time, and we hope all Canadians will stand with them. Keeping the industry afloat is crucial for Canadians everywhere.
Michelle Eaton: Feds Need To Hit A Reset On Alcohol Escalator Tax
We all cringe during those scenes in a movie when someone down on their luck gets kicked further down. It makes us feel helpless and frustrated on their behalf. In addition, while we have all watched in horror as the country’s hospitality industry has been, and continues to be, devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory forces are unfortunately aligning to deal them another blow. Michelle Eaton, Vice President, Communications, Ontario Chamber of Commerce, had commentary on this situation in the Toronto Sun.
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Resumes Additional Activities This Month
This month, the CRA is resuming additional business activities, which may affect some business tax users. The activities include appeals, audits, collections, compliance measures, and outreach activities. The CRA is also providing information on how to protect yourself from scams, it’s important to know when and how the CRA might contact you.
Funding Opportunity For Indigenous Innovators
Indigenous Services Canada is seeking a web-based navigation tool that helps users to navigate Indigenous federal programs, initiatives and strategies and that can match incoming requests from Indigenous businesses, organizations and government officials to a federal program or service.
Free Upcoming Events
September 23, 1:00 P.M. ET | Crisis Communications In Times Of Pandemic: Maintaining Your Brand While Facing Financial Challenges And Business Uncertainty Webinar, With National PR
How a business communicates in this era of the COVID-19 pandemic is key to its future success and sometimes to its very survival.
As consumer behaviour changes, supply chains become disrupted and employees and employers navigate uncharted territory and uncertain futures, the importance of a well-crafted crisis management plan is becoming ever clearer to Canadian businesses.
Join us for an interactive webinar with guest speakers Mark Boutet and Larry Markowitz of NATIONAL Public Relations. We will discuss the basic principles of crisis communications and will focus on maintaining your brand during these challenging times.
September 30, 1:00 P.M. ET | Future of Transportation: Air
As one of the first industries to feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the air transportation sector, including airports, airlines, and others in that ecosystem, will undoubtedly be one of the last to fully recover. Before the pandemic, the sector employed about 141,000 Canadians and flew upwards of 70 million passengers per year. Today, that number has plummeted almost overnight as airlines and airports grapple with new economic realities. However, as Canada begins emerging from the depths of the pandemic, industry leaders are finding new and innovative ways to instill consumer confidence and start returning to pre-pandemic levels. Our conversation will address those ways and focus on how Canada’s air transport sector can continue to demonstrate leadership in this regard.
October 6, 1:00 P.M. ET | Future Of Transportation: Shipping
Shipping is an essential industry in Canadian and global supply chains, comprising 20% of Canadian exports and imports. Contributing to about 2% of the Canadian economy, shipping operations play a major role across the country from coast to coast. As with every industry, shipping has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This conversation will revolve around how the industry has responded to the pandemic and other significant events followed by a discussion on what’s next for shipping in Canada.
How We’re Helping Canadian Business
Small Business Relief Fund Helps Mohawk College Enterprise (MCE) Help Others
MCE was incorporated as the sole provider of corporate training on behalf of Mohawk College in 2010. In that time, MCE has made significant contributions to corporate professionals in Ontario, specifically in leadership, technology and health and community services. A recipient of the CBRN Small Business Relief Fund, MCE used its funding to create three micro-eLearning courses for the public.
Leveraging Local During COVID-19: How Local Communities Are Helping To Support Small Business
Partners of the Our Restaurants campaign are sharing their perspectives and insights on the issues facing the industry. This contribution is provided by Restaurants Canada from its publication MENU.
“Growing up in Toronto’s Corso Italia area, Saturdays were spent at the Piccininni Community Centre for swimming or ballet, followed by a ‘latte’ and cannoli at Tre Mari Italian Bakery. Of course, being six my latte contained no caffeine and was instead steamed milk that my parents told me was a ‘special latte for kids.’ Nevertheless, Saturdays were a treat for me and Tre Mari was a part of my childhood. Now as an adult, Tre Mari has once again become part of my life. As quarantine hit, weekly orders of my favourites became part of my routine” writes Alex Cioppa, a freelance writer in Toronto.
A #TeamCanada Approach
Sleeping Giant Brewing Company (SGBC)
A member of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, SGBC has launched its own daycare service for employees, providing supervision for children in the company’s event space.
“In our brewery, we’re constantly trying to listen to each other as best we can, especially during COVID-19, and all the different experiences everyone’s having,” said Andrea Mulligan, co-owner of SGBC. “It just started to come up on a regular basis, issues with child care, peoples’ ability to work, their partner’s ability to work.”


text:
Alliance Global to ramp up casino expansion after Genting exit
MANILA -Billionaire Andrew Tan-led conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI) will revive plans to expand its casino business outside Metro Manila after taking full control of its gaming arm with the exit of Genting Hong Kong.
The company’s gaming and leisure subsidiary Travellers International Hotel Group already booked a financial turnaround in 2022 with the easing of pandemic-era restrictions.
AGI CEO Kevin Tan signaled that Travellers, operator of Newport World Resorts (formerly Resorts World Manila), is ready to explore new locations outside the Philippine capital.
“As for expansion outside Metro Manila, we are actively looking at some of the key tourism hubs all over the Philippines as potential expansion sites for our integrated resort business,” he said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Thursday.
Last week, AGI said it would buy out the 40-percent stake held by cruise ship giant Genting Hong Kong, controlled by Genting Group patriarch Lim Kok Thay of Malaysia, which filed for bankruptcy last year. This will give the real estate, liquor, gaming and fast food conglomerate full control of Travellers.
Apart from Newport World Resorts, Travellers has a gaming license to develop an integrated casino project in the Entertainment City complex along Manila Bay.
Three years ago, it entered into an agreement with Suntrust Resorts Holdings Inc., owned by Hong Kong-listed LET Group Holdings (formerly Suncity Group Holdings), which will build the $2-billion casino project.
Meanwhile, Tan said prospects in gaming and hotels—among the hardest hit segments during the pandemic—were on the mend.
“We intend to sustain this strong growth trajectory,” Kevin Tan said.
The conglomerate also committed to expanding its other segments via a P70-billion capital spending budget for 2023, which was 23 percent higher than the previous year.
AGI owns Megaworld Corp., Emperador Inc., Travellers, and Golden Arches Development Corp., which operates the McDonald’s fast food chain in the Philippines.
“AGI has been focused on delivering products and services that create a bespoke and premium lifestyle for our discerning customers,” Kevin Tan said.
“A firm believer of the country’s attractive long-term growth prospects, the Group is betting on the continued improvement in consumer spending,” he added.
AGI ended the first quarter of 2023 with a net income of P4.7 billion, up 20 percent over the same period last year. Revenues from January to March also rose 34 percent to P50.3 billion.


text:
From 2012 to 2019, Chinese travellers were multiplied by 10. Chinese tourism is growing very fast and becomes more and more lucrative. If a Chinese tourist spent in average $1834 in each outbound journey in 2019, international expenditures of chinese tourists are booming. They were estimated at $43,7 billion US Dollars in 2009 and reached $277 billion in 2018.
The Chinese New Year (CNY) is one of the most important periods for the tourism industry. In 2019, it represented 10% of the total tourism year spending. Each year, the travel market during CNY is growing both in spending and number of people.
But in 2020, the coronavirus disturbed these trends. The coronavirus appeared just before the CNY and made thousands of people change their travel plan. This change was voluntary for the majority, who decided to follow the government recommendations and stayed at home. But other had also to cancel their trip due to travel bans.
British Airways, Air France… several companies started to cancel flights from China. Then, countries such as The Philippines, Vietnam or India banned entry on residents of China and foreign nationals who have visited China.
The week following these restrictions, Chinese arrivals in Asia Pacific Countries (APAC) dropped by 15% and by 22,5% in Americas.
In mainland China, hotel rooms occupancy decreased by 75% over two weeks. If this drop can be explained by travellers who cancelled their trip, it is also due to hotels themselves who decided to close their doors.
Currently, 150 Hilton hotels, for a total of 33000 rooms, are closed in mainland China.
In addition, hotels outside China started to refuse Chinese nationals forcing the travellers to find another accommodation.
But Chinese tourists are not only restricted by the choice of their accommodation in these times. Abroad, announces indicating that Chinese are not welcomed appeared at the entrance of markets, shops and restaurants.
In this tense context, finding hotels and activities as a Chinese without being linked to the virus is complicated. If Chinese people want to fully enjoy their holidays, they should probably plan to postpone them.
Outbound tourism revenue drop
Thailand is the first destination for Chinese outbound tourism. The country stands to lose $3.4 billion in tourism revenue this year, if the virus outbreak lasts to summer.
The Maldives, one of the favourite destinations for chinese luxury tourism, expect a drop of 30% in tourists arrival. It may lead to a $540 million of loss in revenue for hotels.
In the US, experts plan a drop of 4.6 million hotel rooms nights.
What can we expect in the following months?
A report published last week by Re-Hub & Zectr divided Tier 1 cities consumers into four categories and asked them their future intention to buy with the virus context.
The four categories are the following:
- Silver foxes: retired males, well-educated but with low income
- Tasteful cosmopolitans: Skew older with highest income than other segments
- Fashion- forward moms : fit in with popular trends
- Young professionals: well-educated and mobile young white collars
Moreover, the report imagines three different scenarios in the future: the Optimistic one with a reduction of the number of cases at the end of February, the Base one with a recovery in may and the Pessimistic case with an increasing growth of cases.
For Silver foxes in a pessimistic scenario, the travel budget for the next 3 months is cut by 46% comparing to last year.
Young professionals, who are the most likely to travel, will increase their travel budget by 4% in the Optimistic scenario. However, the travel budget decreases in the Base scenario (by 13%) and the Pessimistic one (by 17%).
To sum up the travel industry will be strongly hit by the coronavirus in the short term and it has already started. But Chinese travellers may save their current travel budget, and plan to travel later with a higher one. In the long term, this hypothesis may reduces the impacts of the coronavirus on tourism.
McKinsey & Company, Coronavirus COVID-19 Crisis Response, February 14th2020
McKinsey, Travel and Tourism Market in China, November 2019
Re-Hub & Zectr, Consumers in Crisis, Understanding the Effect of the Coronavirus on Chinese Consumers, Insights from Machine Learning, February 2020.


text:
Apr 16, 2018 – Autodesk releases Autodesk Infraworks 2019
Infraworks 2019 is available via the Autodesk Desktop App or via download from the Autodesk subscription site.
The new features list can be viewed on the Infraworks Help What’s New page
As is the norm, the Infraworks 2019 install will overwrite any previous Infraworks install.
Your models from the previous release will need to be upgraded to the new 2019 release build.
It is strongly recommended that you backup your models before upgrading.
This additional warning from the Civil 3D 2019 Readme is certainly worth noting.
InfraWorks models must be upgraded to the InfraWorks 2019 release version before they can be opened in Autodesk Civil 3D 2019.
- If you attempt to open an InfraWorks model in Civil 3D 2019 that needs to be upgraded, an error message will be displayed at the command line.
- Open the model in InfraWorks 2019 to upgrade it and then close the model before opening it in Civil 3D 2019.


text:
A U.S. International Trade Commission judge ruled that Microsoft did not infringe upon any Google-owned Motorola Mobility patents with the Xbox 360.
One month ago, a federal judge in Seattle sided with Microsoft in a preliminary ruling and said that Motorola Mobility would not be able to block the import and sale of Xbox or Windows, and today’s decision confirms that.
“This is a win for Xbox customers and confirms our view that Google had no grounds to block our products,” David Howard, Microsoft corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement.
Motorola had originally claimed that Microsoft violated five of its patents and sought a rate amounting to more than $4 billion a year, plus $20 billion in back payments. This case, which started back in 2010, will likely to set a precedent in the realm of “standard-essential patents” — technologies that are required for companies to implement industry standards.


text:
Entravision’s Q2 earnings results were released just before RBR+TVBR’s Thursday afternoon news deadline. We took a peek, and the multimedia company targeting Hispanic consumers had a strong quarter.
Revenue was up, and so was net income. Why? It’s thanks to digital, CEO Walter Ulloa notes.
“During the second quarter, we achieved revenue growth driven by increases in our digital media segment,” he said.
The digital media segment offsets a decrease in Entravision’s television segment of 3%, to $36.5 million, and flat growth for its radio segment of $17.2 million — results that are not surprising and continue trends that point to Entravision as a programmatic ad player in the U.S. Hispanic market.
“We continued to build our digital footprint through our acquisition of Smadex, a digital advertising technology company, while implementing steps to more efficiently align operations and reduce costs,” Ulloa said. “Looking ahead, we remain well positioned to build on our success in further attracting Latino and other audiences worldwide, and expanding our advertiser base to the benefit of our shareholders.”
Free cash flow was improved from Q2 2017—to $8.7 million from $5.6 million.
Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $14.87 million, down from $14.9 million in Q2 ’17.
In addition to announcing a net revenue gain of 5%, to $74.3 million, and net income of $4.8 million — a 38% improvement from Q2 2017, Entravision announced that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend to shareholders of $0.05 per share of the company’s Class A, Class B and Class U common stock, in an aggregate amount of approximately $4.5 million. The quarterly dividend will be payable on September 28, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Sept. 14. Entravisoin common stock will trade ex-dividend on September 13.


text:
A US appeals court is being pressured by Tesla to immediately reinstate an Obama regulation from 2016 that more than doubles penalties for automakers who cannot meet fuel efficiency requirements, according to an Automotive News report.
In a court filing, Tesla told the Second Circuit US Court of Appeals that the Trump administration’s delay of higher penalties until the 2022 model year is “unlawful.” The Biden administration supports tougher emissions standards but says Tesla has to wait until the NHTSA completes its review of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) penalties in six months.
This is the second time in two months Tesla has asked the appeals court to act on the delay. The electric automaker claims the Trump administration’s delay hurts the company:
“egregious action presents a situation as extraordinary as it is unjustified and inflicts immediate and irreparable injury on Tesla.”
The NHTSA hasn’t even processed CAFE penalties for the 2018 and 2019 model years, so the Justice Department doesn’t think Tesla faces irreparable harm. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, now known as Stellantis, paid a $79 million penalty for not meeting 2017 model year fuel economy requirements.
In 2020, Tesla made a whopping $1.58 billion from selling regulatory credits to other automakers, an increase from $594 million in 2019. Since Tesla EVs are zero-emission, they can sell regulatory credits to automakers who need them. Trump’s delay of higher penalties reduces the value of those credits.
Tesla isn’t the only one fighting the delay of higher fuel efficiency penalties. According to the Automotive News report:
Last month, 15 states sued NHTSA for delaying the adoption of the higher penalties for companies that fail to meet fuel efficiency requirements. The Sierra Club and National Resources Defense Council have also sued NHTSA for delaying penalties.
The penalty for failing to meet fuel efficiency requirements is $14 for every 0.1 mile per gallon a new vehicle consumes over the required amount. This was increased from $5.50 in 2015.
In October, when Stellantis was still Fiat Chrysler, the company said that if the higher penalties aren’t delayed, it could cost the automaker:
“up to 500 million euros ($581 million) depending on, among other things, our ability to implement future product actions or other actions to modify the utilization of credits.”


text:
Recent difficulties Spotify has had with Apple’s policies serve as a reminder of the degree of control businesses like Google have over software and technology. The licensing of technologies and software for smartphones and other devices, particularly Android, is another area where Google maintains an iron grip. The official version of Android approved by Google or an Android fork are the only options available to device OEMs. A recent arrangement between Google and Amazon has given certain Smart TV manufacturers the confidence to release new TVs running the Fire TV OS while maintaining support for Google’s stock Android in other products.
A recent Protocol article claims that TCL will introduce two smart TVs running the Amazon Fire TV OS later this year in Europe while continuing to market other goods, such as TVs and smartphones, that run stock Android. With products based on Fire TV OS, Xiaomi and Hisense are also extending their smart TV product lines.
Normally, it wouldn’t be a huge problem for a company like TCL to offer consumers multiple smart TV platforms. After all, the company offers TVs in the US that are powered by Android and Roku. But Amazon’s platform represents a change from the norm. Formerly known as the Anti-Fragmentation Agreement, the Android Compatibility Commitment (ACC) was a document that Google required companies to sign in order to pressure OEMs and makers of set-top boxes to avoid using Fire OS and other Android forks or risk losing access to the Play Store for their entire line of products. Google claims that by doing this, its ecosystem of partner devices can offer “uniform and safe software experiences to users and developers.”
The Competition Commission of India recently looked into the Asian nation’s market for smart TVs, and this ostensibly monopolistic behaviour was the source of controversy. Because of Google’s limitations, at least seven manufacturers, according to Amazon, declined to produce smart TVs based on Fire TV OS. A device based on any OS may be sold by companies signing the ACC, but if it is based on Android, it must be compatible with Google’s ecosystem, according to the search engine giant. Such a restriction would have forced Amazon to change Fire OS from its forked features and separate app store to something that resembled pure Android, complete with Play Services. That was obviously not going to happen.
Android smartphone manufacturers were also constrained by a similar compatibility agreement. Google provided devices dependant on the Play Store while also preventing businesses from selling smartphones running unapproved Android forks. Google Search and the Chrome browser were made mandatory for OEMs by the corporation. Thankfully, the agreements were improved in 2018 when the European Commission looked into them.
Although this new agreement between the producers of TV operating systems may be a sign of the times, unnamed insiders told Protocol that Google hasn’t yet modified its position. In response to congressional investigation and other market regulators outside of the US, the corporation may just be “avoid[ing] additional headline risk]. The source also claims that smart TV OEMs may take a break, but Google has the right to tighten the knot at any time. Up until that time, more smart TVs using Fire TV OS may start appearing on store shelves.


text:
If I were to ever own a home, it would be through squatters’ rights or tricking The Block’s Scotty Cam into believing that I’m his long-lost child. But outside of those two options, I’m screwed, mate.
Sure, house prices are down, but interest rates are sky-high. Moreover, thanks to the cost of living crisis pumping up the price of milk, grain, and a lot of veggies, it’s more frustrating than ever trying to save for a house. Even if I had the cash for a place in my bank account, I would wait.
Moreover, I’m not alone in feeling this way. Money.com.au commissioned a survey that asked 1003 Aussies if they’d wait a few months before buying a home. Nearly half of its respondents, 43%, stated that they would wait because they reckon that house prices will fall even further.
But this isn’t the only action that some would take to score a cheaper home. This survey also outlined that 11% of its respondents would buy in a lower-priced area, while 9% would buy an older home that needs some reno.
It’s worth noting that younger folks were more hungry to buy a home at a lower price point. In the 18-34 bracket, 86% of them would actively try to score a lower-priced property. In the 35-54 bracket, this number is 82%. Meanwhile, only 69% of over-55s would be proactive in trying to buy a cheaper house.
“The research findings confirm that, with more disposable income and savings, and potentially less debt, older Australians have greater purchasing power and may be less likely to make sacrifices than younger age groups when considering a property purchase,” explained Money.com.au spokesperson, Helen Baker.
“Overall, it is surprising that a significant proportion of Australians regard a continued slump in the market as the single factor to influence their purchase price, while only a small minority are willing purchase a smaller or older property, or buy in a less popular area,” stated Baker.
“There is a lot of uncertainty in the market, and there is a chance prices may not fall as much as expected. Ironically, if 43 percent of buyers try to time the market and enter the market all at once, prices will bounce back quickly.”


text:
The hectic shopping season isn't just about finding perfect gifts. It's also prime time for identity thieves to snag your info. Here's five tips from security experts on staying safe online.
Avoiding long lines and cranky crowds are just two of the benefits of online shopping. But getting hacked while buying a toy playset from the hit movie "Frozen" through an online seller is a real shopping risk, too.
It may seem that protecting yourself from hackers is impossible, given that it's been a banner year for identity theft. In 2014, hackers stole tens of millions of email addresses and credit card numbers from US retailer Home Depot and bank JPMorgan and got into Apple's iCloud service through a password breach, which exposed explicit, personal photos from around two dozen celebrities including actress Jennifer Lawrence.
Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to protect yourself that don't require expertise in network penetration technology, said Gary Miliefsky, the founder and CEO of spyware blocker SnoopWall, who has decades of experience in online protection. But first, a reality check. "Assume you're already compromised," Miliefsky said.
That's because the more we shop online, the more we put ourselves at risk – whether using smartphones or home computers. Online fraud has almost tripled in the past year, according to the 2014 annual online fraud report from Javelin Strategy and Research. There are 60 new identity theft victims every three minutes, according to studies from the nonprofit research firm Identity Theft Resource Center.
People who have more than 20 online accounts and are very active on the Internet are more likely to reuse passwords, which makes them 37 percent more likely to have their accounts compromised, according to another Javelin Strategy and Research report released this month.
Miliefsky said there are three things you can do to stave off basic hacking attempts. First, delete apps you don't use and clean up ones you do use. Second, when shopping from your smartphone at a mall or other public location, turn off all wireless networks except for mobile data. Third, use credit cards instead of debit cards.
"Try to avoid using a debit card that has direct access to your checking account. Always use credit cards when you can," because credit cards are insured against fraudulent charges, said Adam Kujawa, head of malware intel at Malwarebytes.
When it comes to app and network controls, many people are unaware of how to take basic precautions, Miliefsky said. One of the most popular flashlight apps for Android and iPhones, Brightest Flashlight, was secretly recording and sharing users' device ID and location information. The app maker eventually settled charges brought against it by the US Federal Trade Commission. Checking an app's origins through the Apple App Store or Google Play can go a long way to avoiding headaches.
The same goes for at-home Web browsing. Make sure you've disabled add-ons and plug-ins before shopping. This lowers the risk of unauthorized access to your shopping habits and credit card details. Unauthorized network access is another risk users can take simple steps to reduce when shopping. "Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you're in stores to keep the store from tracking you," said Adam Ely, the co-founder and chief security officer of Bluebox Security. That also "keeps you from getting more spam."
The icons at the top of your phone will tell you which services are active. If you're even just a bit tech savvy, use a Virtual Private Network app when using free Wi-Fi. VPNs, as they're called, encrypt your Internet traffic and protect it so it can't be snooped without permission. "If you're on a public Wi-Fi, then absolutely use it," Ely said.
Another precaution is to strengthen your webmail with a second, temporary password called two-factor authentication. An added password is often texted to your smartphone and must be entered immediately after your main password, making it much more difficult for hackers to get into your account. With two-factor authentication, if hackers guess your main password – as they did with many celebrities during the iCloud hack – your account won't be accessible to them.


text:
Major Fashion Brands Such as Zara, H&M and Prada Tied to Amazon Deforestation
The Brazilian cattle industry is the leading cause of Amazon deforestation. Lucas Ninno / Getty Images
Some of your favorite fashion brands may be putting the Amazon rainforest at risk.
A new report released by Stand.earth Monday says that major clothing companies are sourcing their leather from manufacturers and tanneries that have links to Amazon deforestation.
“If you’re wearing leather shoes, a leather belt or carrying a leather handbag, it’s highly likely that it was made from cowhide that contributed to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest,” Slow Factory wrote in a statement about the report.
The raising of cattle for beef and leather is the leading cause of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. The new report found that more than 100 fashion brands and companies including Coach, Prada, H&M, Zara, Adidas, Nike, New Balance, Teva, UGG, and Fendi have potential links to this deforestation, The Guardian reported.
The brands in question aren’t directly intending to use leather tied to deforestation. In fact, a significant amount of them have announced policies to get deforestation out of their supply chains. Despite this, the report found that they are working with tanneries and manufacturers that in turn have links to cows raised on recently-cleared rainforest land. The findings therefore put corporate commitments in doubt.
“With a third of companies surveyed having some kind of policy in place, [you’d expect] that would have an impact on deforestation,” report researcher Greg Higgs told The Guardian. “The rate of deforestation is increasing, so the policies have no material effect.”
The findings were based on 500,000 rows of customs data. The report didn’t directly tie each brand to a dubious source, but instead revealed links that raised the likelihood that a particular leather item came from Amazon cows. It did find that more than 50 companies had more than one supply chain link to JBS, the largest Brazilian leather exporter that has been known to participate in deforestation.
JBS has pledged to have a zero-deforestation supply chain by 2035, but activists say this is not enough.
The finding comes at a critical moment for the Amazon rainforest. Brazil’s space agency recently reported that the forest was facing its highest deforestation levels in 15 years, encouraged by the extractive policies of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. This is a problem for the Indigenous communities and unique biodiversity that rely on the forest, as well as the global climate. A 2020 study found that the rainforest now emits one billion more tons of carbon dioxide than it absorbs.
Slow Factory is therefore calling on the fashion industry to:
- Stop buying leather from companies that can’t source their products directly to the farm they came from.
- Support legislation that would require the cattle industry to fully trace its supply chains.
- Make a public commitment to points 1 and 2, as well as eliminate deforestation from their supply chains.
Report researcher Angeline Robertson told The Guardian that the fashion industry would help its own image by taking action.
“In this time of climate emergency, if the fashion industry wants to be relevant, this is the opportunity,” she said.
- Fast Fashion Wrecks the Environment: Here Are 3 Ways to Slow It ...
- Climate Change: Everything You Need to Know - EcoWatch


text:
Global retailers signatories of the 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment include ASOS, H&M, Hugo Boss, VF Corp, Inditex and Kering. The project was launched during the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in May 2017, when non-profit initiative Global Fashion Agenda called on fashion brands and retailers to sign a commitment to accelerate the transition to a circular fashion system. Since then, the 64 corporations have been working on setting their own individual targets for 2020.
The signatories have set a total of 143 targets in one or more of the following four areas: designing for circularity, increasing the volume of used garments collected, increasing the volume of used garments resold, and finally, increasing the share of garments made from recycled post-consumer textile fibres.
“We signed Global Fashion Agenda’s 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment since it ties in well with our ambitious vision to become 100% circular and renewable”, said Anna Gedda, Head of Sustainability, H&M Group. “One of the goals for H&M group is to only use recycled or other sustainably sourced materials by 2030 and to become climate positive throughout our entire value chain by 2040 at the latest.”
An annual progress report is expected to be published for the first time in May 2018 highlighting the signatories’ activities and progress in reaching their targets.
To read more on the brands involved and the targets set, please click here.


text:
How July became the global month of action to end plastic waste
The Plastic Free July Team | 7 July 2022
Global month of action to end plastic waste
Concerned by the plastic problem, many of us didn’t wait for bans to decide to stop using plastic bags when we go shopping. Participants didn’t stop buying coffee in plastic cups because businesses stopped selling them to us.
Instead many of us saw plastic pollution caused by everyday items in our own lives and decided to make a change ourselves.
We may have questioned whether our small actions would make a difference. We haven’t met each other but the ‘many’ of us taking these seemingly small actions grew to ‘millions’ refusing single-use plastics at home, in schools and at work and as the size of our community grows, the impact gets bigger and bigger. Millions of people around the world refusing single-use plastics at home, in schools and at work and showing others new ways to reduce their plastic footprint too.
As the size of our community grows, the impact gets bigger and bigger. Individuals create Facebook groups, community beach-cleans and invite more people to get involved.
Plastic Free July is a personal challenge yet it has become a major milestone on the global calendar – the month of July now synonymous with taking action to end plastic pollution.
Senators and CEOs are getting involved too, brands and regulators responding to the groundswell of community engagement.
This July, we celebrate unprecedented legislative and regulatory action across the world, from Washington D.C to Delhi, Perth to Portugal marking what has become the month of global action on plastic waste.
A few highlights from 1st July include;
- In the USA, Senator Whitehouse and Senator Jeff Merkley announced a resolution to mark July as ‘Plastic Pollution Action Month’ to highlight the urgency of addressing the threat that the plastic pollution crisis poses to our health and planet.
- In India, the federal government announced a ban of 19 single-use or disposable plastic items that they identified to not be very useful but have a high possibility of becoming waste. The ruling takes immediate action on the produce, import, selling and use of these plastic items.
- Our home state of Western Australia saw action to strengthen the existing ban on lightweight plastic bags to include all plastic shopping bags with handles as well as disposable plastic utensils, disposable plastic foodware without lids and expanded polystyrene food containers and trays and helium balloon releases. In South Australia a ‘BYO Containers Bill’ was passed – making it easier for retailers to allow customers to use their own reusable containers to take away food.
- In Portugal, world leaders attended the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference and agreed to adopt an action-oriented Political Declaration to save the ocean from existing and future threats, including marine pollution.
Plastic Free July is proof that decisions to reduce plastic pollution made by individuals are not a drop in the ocean but a ripple that grows into a wave and can help turn the tide on the plastic problem. Changing our behaviour and the growing shift away from single-use plastics is leading the way for systemic change and we congratulate the governments and brands that are responding by taking action.