text:
First biogradable N95 Corona mask
Researchers at the BioProducts Institute at the University of British Columbia (UBC) say they have developed the (possibly) first-ever N95 mask that is fully compostable and biodegradable. The idea was to make a mask from local materials that should be easy to produce and not expensive, with the added benefit of being compostable and biodegradable. According to UBC, the new mask – the Canadian-Mask or Can-Mask – meets all those conditions.
The mask frame is made entirely of British-Colombian wood fibres from trees such as pine, spruce, cedars and other coniferous wood. There are two prototypes. One prototype uses a commercial N95 filter on the front of the mask, the other uses a specially designed filter of wood-based products by the UBC team. Both prototypes are currently being tested to ensure they meet the health industry’s specifications in terms of fit and permeability. The aim is to apply for a so-called Health Canada certification in the near future.
The researchers think that the mask is a good alternative to the synthetic masks that are currently in use. With millions of disposable masks and gloves already polluting the sidewalks of cities and possibly ending up in rivers and oceans, there is an urgent need for biodegradable protection products, the researchers find.
More in Innovative Materials 2020 number 3


text:
Mobile apps tap the changing face of online dating
- Mobile dating market reported revenue of almost %24213M in 2012
- Niche dating sites%2C which range from ethnicity to age%2C are increasing
- Social stigma of online dating is fading
Melissa Arseniuk, 30, isn't leaving her dating life to chance.
She's a paying member of the dating website HowAboutWe and also uses the mobile app SinglesAroundMe. Arseniuk, a writer in New York, plunged into both about six months ago after the end of a three-year relationship. She says the phone app is particularly handy.
"I could be at a coffee shop or meeting a girlfriend and she's running late, so I could fire up the app and see who's around," she says. "It's kind of a good supplement to the more traditional Web-based dating sites. It's about exploring all avenues and putting yourself out there."
As online dating revolutionized romance in America over the past decade, the proliferation of dating apps is now taking love to a whole new level, remaking an industry that's expected to reach $1.2 billion this year. The mobile dating segment is projected to double its revenue over the next five years.
This Valentine's Day, fewer singles searching for love are tethered to laptops or those other technological relics: desktops. Just as other industries have watched online traffic and business migrate from the Web to mobile devices, the dating industry has been rolling out apps that are connecting hearts, and breaking them, in surprising new ways and splintering an audience once captured almost exclusively by the goliaths of online dating.
"I see the industry breaking off into a billion different directions," says Marc Lesnick, founder of iDate, an annual trade show for the online dating industry.
If you have a specific dating need to be fulfilled -- from the sacred to the scandalous -- there's probably a site for you, many with their own apps as well. The niches range from ethnic, religious or age-based to sites for occupations (FarmersOnly.com) or eating preferences (VeggieDate.org). For gay men, there's Grindr.com and a site launched in December called Stagg.
"I love the site DateMyPet. The idea is you like pets and I like pets. That's the level it's gone," Lesnick says. "It's everything you can imagine now. That's where it's heading."
Among the satisfied customers are Melissa Levine, 27, a physician assistant, and Corey Pew, 29, an engineer. They met on the niche site JDate, for Jewish singles, and will marry next month.
"As an engineer, you don't meet a whole lot of girls on a daily basis," says Pew, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle.
In 2010, he moved to Austin. Levine was moving there as well and started looking online for Austin daters. She had tried JDate after college graduation and "ended up going on horrible dates."
"One guy was talking about the mating of bees for three hours straight," says Levine, now also of Seattle. "Most of my friends -- when they would tell me stories, they are not good stories about dating online. Weird, weird guys."
Until Pew. "I met him three days after I moved to Austin. I was talking to two guys on JDate at the time and planning on meeting both. I went on the date with Corey first and canceled the other date," Levine says.
In less than two decades, online dating has soared and is "in the growth phase of its economic life cycle," says an IBISWorld report. Though 18- to 29-year-olds make up the biggest chunk of users, with 30- to 49-year-olds next in line, demand is expected to increase with the north-of-50 crowd, too. More than one-third of Baby Boomers are unmarried, and as more and more migrate to the digital world, the industry is beginning to target this unattached and largely underserved market.
Just as the social stigma of "online dating" has begun to fade, the name itself might also go the way of dial-up Internet service. With the dating industry moving so rapidly, the phrase "online dating" will soon disappear from the lexicon, says Sam Yagan, CEO of Match, Inc., which oversees sites such as Match.com, Chemistry.com and all online dating operations for the global operations of its parent company, IAC.
"It's all converging so quickly that the idea of differentiating online and offline in five years will be anachronistic," he says.
Whether it's an app for a dating website or a dating app alone, mobile is "leading the industry's growth," says Caitlin Moldvay, a senior industry analyst at IBISWorld, based in Santa Monica, Calif. She calls 2011 "a significant milestone -- it was the first year people spent more time on dating apps than on dating sites. It was a huge change from the year before."
It's also heading to even bigger money. Last year, the mobile dating market reported revenue of almost $213 million, up 29% from the previous year, according to market research company IBISWorld. In the next five years, revenue is expected to nearly double to more than $415 million.
Nielsen reports that the number of Americans using apps or a mobile version of a dating website was 13.7 million in November 2012, more than double the previous year's 5.8 million.
These apps are downloaded free, but communication with others on paid sites requires a subscription, which entitles users to the same access -- online or mobile.
"We're trying to mirror real life as best we can," says Chris Klotz, 46, founder of SinglesAroundMe, one of the first location-based mobile dating apps for smartphones, launched in 2010. "It's a natural evolution of online dating."
As the focus has shifted to apps, the online dating website category has seen a drop in visitors over the past two years. About 22.9 million people visited dating websites in January 2012, down from 29.3 million in January 2011, according to ComScore, which tracks website traffic from computers separately from mobile devices.
But the shifting traffic is a sign of strength rather than weakness, experts say.
"The goal of dating sites is to eventually meet in person with another person. That makes it inherently local and mobile," says Yagan, 35, of New York, who co-founded the free dating site OkCupid, which launched in 2004 and is now part of IAC. Last month, OkCupid launched Crazy Blind Date, a mobile app that arranges blind dates with just a few hours' notice and allows singles to provide real-time feedback.
Part of IAC's strategy has been to purchase niche dating sites, with 37 brands in more than 25 countries now under its umbrella. IAC acquired DateHookup last year, OkCupid in 2011, Singlesnet in 2010 and People Media -- which includes sites such as SingleParentMeet, DivorcedPeopleMeet and InterracialPeopleMeet -- in 2009. IBISWorld says IAC alone accounts for 24% of the dating services industry revenue.
What happens after people are connected via apps or dating sites is more difficult to quantify. Some sites, such as eHarmony, do more than collect profiles of singles shopping for a date. They have users fill out detailed questionnaires about their personalities and what they want in a potential match. The site pairs them up using proprietary compatibility algorithms.
Although research published last year found "no compelling evidence" that such matching software better predicts compatibility, one can't help but wonder how many online matches actually lead to the altar.
Sociologist Michael Rosenfeld, of Stanford University, set about to answer this question. His new analysis of nationally representative data found that of 926 unmarried couples followed from 2009 to 2011, those who met online were twice as likely to marry as those who met offline, with a yearly marriage rate of 13% compared to 6%. Rosenfeld's earlier research has found that about one in five new relationships began online.
The eHarmony site touts that, on average, 542 Americans get married each day after meeting on its site; that represents almost 5% of all new U.S. marriages. The findings are based on a 2009 Harris Interactive online survey of 7,994 adults ages 20-54 who were married between January 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009.
Founder Neil Clark Warren, 78, acknowledges a "significant lag" in business over the past few years, and he is aiming for rejuvenation by transforming eHarmony into more of a "relationship site" that will help sustain couples who met on eHarmony. The company's mobile app, launched in 2010, is key to this revival.
"We started losing subscribers at a rapid rate," Warren says. "We've turned that around now and are going to gain those people back again."
The challenge for the industry long term, experts suggest, is that its goals -- making money and growing an audience -- are somewhat at odds with those of its customers.
"It is kind of a weird category," says Peter Farago, marketing vice president at Flurry Analytics, a firm that analyzes smartphone and app activity. "Success for the consumer is they pair off and meet someone and no longer use the service."
Lesnick says the typical online dater stays with a service two to four months -- paying an average of $20 a month (some as high as $60) -- and then is gone.
"They'd love to keep them all year long, but the reality is they've either found someone and they don't need the service anymore or they didn't find anybody and are frustrated with it," Lesnick says. "That's been a problem since Day 1. How do we extend that time period?"
Valeri Ziegler, 54, of Santa Paula, Calif., who was married 23 years before her 2009 divorce, has tried online dating off and on for a few years. She's tried free sites and paying sites and now says "I just don't have the energy for it." But because she still gets e-mail from HowAboutWe and weekly updates from PlentyofFish, she pays some attention.
"You get to say if you're intrigued or interested, and that's about the extent of my looking now," she says.
As with other world-changing technologies, part of the appeal of apps is speed.
"People should try to get to that face-to-face meeting as soon as they can," says psychologist Paul Eastwick, an assistant professor of human development at the University of Texas at Austin. His research found that the wish list of traits when searching online for a romantic partner doesn't matter as much as you might think.
Once you've met in person, you stop using your wish list to evaluate the person, he says, citing a 2011 study he co-authored that was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
"When you meet somebody you have a gut reaction to that person and that drives whether we pursue somebody romantically or not. Chemistry -- you can assess that in four minutes. That is the thing driving your responses," Eastwick says.
Mark Brooks, a consultant who has studied the industry from its infancy, says the online and mobile dating industry is more than just a business: "Going from where it is now and where it's going to be in the next 20 or 30 years time, I'd be hard-pressed to think of a business -- outside of the medical industry -- that will have more impact on society."

domain: news


text:
What to Make of Whole Foods' Growing Pains?
On the day Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced it was acquiring Whole Foods Markets, grocery stocks across the board dramatically sold off. The prevailing thinking was that the combination of Amazon's logistical dominance and Whole Foods' brand cachet would be a truly disruptive force.
In the seven months since, what's happened is much less disruption, and much more continuation of the status quo.
It does appear there is now a focus on integrating the two brands, with two recent announcements speaking to that. Last month it was reported that Amazon's VP of Amazon Prime will be spending more time with the Whole Foods division. Additionally, Amazon started a pilot two-hour grocery delivery program for Amazon Prime members in Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas, and Virginia Beach, later adding San Francisco to the mix.
Still, signs of growing pains have emerged for the newly combined entity. Ironically, the issues seem to revolve around logistics. What should investors make of these new growing pains?
Whole Foods has reportedly angered a powerful stakeholder
The newest concern for the Whole Foods division is increased tensions between the grocer and the important brands it stocks for shoppers. While many customers blamed Whole Foods' supplier problems on Amazon, issues had been simmering for a while. Employees and analysts blamed a new inventory management system -- order-to-shelf, or OTS -- that predated the acquisition.
OTS' aim was to nationalize the buying experience so the company could buy in bulk to take full advantage of volume and quantity discounts and avoid superfluous orders to limit spoilage costs. However, OTS had the downside of leading to stockouts and taking shelf space away from smaller regional and local suppliers that were often at the heart of Whole Foods' je ne sais quoi.
Although Amazon is a logistical powerhouse, something it has not had to deal with in recent years is strong supplier power. The company can dictate its terms to third-party sellers in its Amazon Marketplace. And critics have faulted Amazon for using its size and scale to force unfair terms on these smaller suppliers -- for example, Amazon recently announced a fee increase for third-party apparel sellers, which is noteworthy because the company now produces its own clothing.
The upshot here is that grocery is different due to increased supplier power, and therefore relationships must be handled more adroitly than Amazon is accustomed to. It is my opinion Whole Foods and Amazon will be able to quickly fix these relationships, however.
Acquisitions often take time
Acquisitions are hard. A study from auditing firm KPMG found 83% of all merger deals were failures, in the sense they did not boost shareholder returns. Amazon is no different in this regard; after paying $545 million in 2011 for Quidsi, the parent company of Diapers.com and Soap.com, the company shuttered the unit because it could not make a profit.
It is my opinion that the Whole Foods acquisition will be different, as the Whole Foods brand is far more valuable, and the positive synergies -- bringing a strong online grocery experience to market -- could be industry disruptive. However, in the short run expect continued growing pains from the Whole Foods division as it attempts to nationalize its buying experience and further integrates with Amazon.
Find out why Amazon is one of the 10 best stocks to buy now
Motley Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner have spent more than a decade beating the market. (In fact, the newsletter they run, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market!*)
Tom and David just revealed their ten top stock picks for investors to buy right now. Amazon is on the list -- but there are nine others you may be overlooking.
Click here to get access to the full list!
*Stock Advisor returns as of March 5, 2018
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jamal Carnette, CFA owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


text:
We're reader-supported and only partner with brands we trust. When you buy through links on our site we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn More. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date and time indicated and are subject to change.
The dialogue surrounding racial equality has now found its way into your grocery cart.
Some well-known grocery brands are making big changes in the midst of mounting public pressure to be more racially sensitive and inclusive.
1. ‘Pearl Milling Company’ is the new name of Aunt Jemima products.
PepsiCo announced last year that they’d be phasing out the Aunt Jemima name and image, saying it was “based on a racial stereotype” and needed to be retired.
As of February, products formerly known as Aunt Jemima now have the name Pearl Milling Company — the name of the company that originated the self-rising pancake mix back in 1888.
Fans of the syrups, pancake mixes, and other breakfast products will be able to find the new brand on store shelves; the packaging keeps the familiar red, white and yellow packaging of the Aunt Jemima era.
2. Uncle Ben’s rice is now called “Ben’s Original.”
In the wake of the racial equality conversations in June, Mars Inc. announced that “…now is the right time to evolve the Uncle Ben’s brand.”
On Sept. 23, Mars revealed the new name of the rice-based products: “Ben’s Original.” They’re still developing the brand’s logo/imagery, but initial images show that they’re sticking with the same font and blue/orange motif.
Additionally, Mars said they’re looking to help aspiring black chefs and increase educational opportunities for 7,500+ students in Greenville, Mississippi — where Ben’s has been made for more than 40 years.
3. Land O Lakes is removing a Native American woman from their packaging.
Earlier this month, dairy cooperative Land O Lakes started selling their products with a new package design.
For the first time in the company’s 100-year history, the packaging won’t include “Mia,” a stereotypical Native American woman that caused controversy among consumers.
Instead, Land O Lakes is replacing the character with pics of the co-op’s real-life farmers and members, as well as prominent display of the words “Farmer Owned” on butter, milk, cheese, and cream products.
4. Eskimo Pie will remove the indigenous character from packaging and change their name.
America’s first chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar is about to change its name. The “Eskimo Pie” name was originally meant to remind people of the chilly north and indigenous people who live there, but on Friday, June 19, the U.S. company stated, “We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term is derogatory.”
The 99-year-old product is now marketed by Dreyer’s in the U.S. and is produced by different companies across the world, including Tip Top in New Zealand. The company has vowed to stop using the character on the packaging and plans to market under a new name by the end of the year.
5. Mrs. Butterworth’s will now reconsider their branding, too.
Social media turned its attention to Mrs. Butterworth’s — another syrup brand featuring a Black woman — and in response, parent company Conagra said they’re conducting a complete brand and packaging review.
6. Cream Of Wheat’s brand packaging is under ‘immediate review.’
Amidst public pressure, Cream of Wheat’s parent company, B&G Foods, shared that they’re reviewing the product’s chef image, and have committed to “…proactively take steps to ensure that we and our brands do not inadvertently contribute to systemic racism.”
The chef character, named Rastus, has been used on the product’s packaging since 1890.
7. Johnson & Johnson will stop selling skin-whitening creams popular in Asia and the Middle East.
Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its Clean & Clear Fairness line sold in India, and drop its Neutrogena Fine Fairness line sold in Asia and the Middle East after controversy surrounding these products and how they might “. . . represent fairness or white as better than your own unique skin tone.” According to the company, “This was never our intention — healthy skin is beautiful skin.”
Johnson & Johnson will stop producing and shipping these products, but they might still be available in stores until retailer inventory runs out.
Trader Joe’s has decided not to remove ethnic-sounding branding from their products.
Some Trader Joe’s-label products have had variations on their name, from Trader Giottos’s on Italian foods, Trader Ming’s on Asian foods and Trader Jose’s on Mexican foods.
Almost immediately after a change.org petition generated thousands of signatures, Trader Joe’s initially appeared to be open to changing the naming of their ethnic foods. Since then they’ve announced that they believe the variations on their name are light-hearted and inclusive — not racist — and that they’re going to remain.
Winn-Dixie and Dixie Cups have no plans to change their names.
Although TMZ published an article saying that popular Southeastern Grocery chain Winn-Dixie would be going through a name change to drop the association with “Dixie,” a controversial nickname for the Confederacy, there aren’t plans just yet.
A spokesperson for Winn-Dixie told the Jacksonville Daily Record that there are “no immediate plans to rename” the store but said they’d “continue to be responsive to the needs and concerns expressed” by customers.
Dixie Cups hasn’t released a statement about their name, despite calls for the disposable cup company to rebrand. In related news, the Dixie Chicks did change their name to “The Chicks.”


text:
Update: Apparently Google is doing something different with the Nexus 9's binary release: there isn't one. According to Bill Yi, a regular Google poster, the necessary proprietary drivers are actually included on a separate partition of the Volantis software image. That would explain why the LRX21L release is almost twice as big as the last KitKat images for previous devices.
Proprietary Binaries are also available for Fugu. No proprietary binaries are needed for Volantis.
Look, we know most of you are probably more eager to see Lollipop software images for devices that you actually have instead of the ones that have just been released. But Google seems to be taking its sweet time with those, so in the meantime, we've got the software image and binary drivers for the Nexus Player. That's nice, right? Hello? Anyone reading this?
Actually, the software for the Nexus Player will be very important for the future of Google's Android TV platform - this is the showcase device for the next generation of Google-powered set-top boxes, for better or worse. Read More
Over the last few years, few topics have been more hotly contested by Android users and developers than how SD cards are handled by the OS. Back in February, I discussed some of Google's changes during the transition from Android 2.3 to 4.0, and then how more recent policy changes ultimately led to 3rd-party applications losing most of their access to removable storage. By the time I/O came around, Google acknowledged that KitKat's newly added Storage Access Framework still didn't offer enough range for apps to get their work done. Read More
Yes, you read that right. We took an early look at it a couple of weeks ago, then Google formally announced its existence, and now Google Calendar 5.0 is here and ready for download, working on devices running Android 4.0.3 and up.
The app itself is exactly what you'd expect having seen our previous coverage - a super smart "schedule" layout at the front, with supporting day and 5-day views on phones, with a month and week view appearing on tablets. Read More
The wounds are still fresh from Google's somewhat disastrous Nexus 6 launch last week, but the company is trying to get things back on track. The Nexus 6 page on the Play Store has been updated with a promise that Google is working to get more stock, and it's aiming to have some phones ready to go each Wednesday.
When the time comes to take control over someone's machine (with their consent, of course) you're going to want an app that can get the job done reliably. TeamViewer is one such option. With it, you can control a massive Windows, Mac, or Linux machine from an itty-bitty Android device.
Today TeamViewer has announced that version 10 is available as a public beta, and the team has updated its Android app to play along nicely with the new features. Read More
Do you have a smartphone? Do you completely rely on it an entire day for navigation, music, gaming, communication, and more? Then you definitely understand the woes of battery life on these modern all-singing all-dancing gadgets. I personally have a charger at home, a dock at work, a car charger, a small portable charger in my purse, but I also like having MOAR POWER just in case I ever need it. Read More
Play Movies is hardly a one-stop-shop for all of your video consuming needs on a mobile device, but that doesn't mean it's not a convenient option to have around. People throughout nine countries predominantly concentrated in Europe can now choose to turn to Google to rent or purchase certain films. The service has expanded to new countries, many of which also recently received Play Music.
If you click on the red Play Movies icon on an Android device in Macedonia, what you will see should look something like this. Read More
We all know that Samsung is working on what will eventually be known as the Galaxy S6. This isn't news. If anything, it ranks right under a new iPhone coming out as something your average passerby expects to happen in 2015.
What's interesting is figuring out what that new device is going to look like. SamMobile has provided a set of expected specs that, while we can't verify them ourselves, we're inclined to trust. Read More
Sonos has introduced the ability to manage multiple accounts, so people with music streaming to the sound system throughout their house no longer have to share a single login. This lets everyone in the family or a full set of roommates each utilize Sonos in their own way.
This feature isn't rolling out as a stable update just yet. To get your hands on multi-account support as soon as possible, you will need to sign up for the beta. Read More


text:
Attention Utility Customers
March 24, 2020
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, people are buying massive amounts of disinfecting and cleansing wipes to clean and sanitize their homes and themselves. These products along with paper towels should be disposed of in the trash and not flushed down toilets.
These products do not easily breakdown and can create many problems. They cause blockages in pipes that results in raw wastewater overflows that could enter streams and rivers or possibly flow down the street in front of your house. These products also clog and damage pumps in the collection system and at the treatment plant. Repairing or replacing pumps and other components is expensive and could result in the cost being passed down to the customers. Manufacturers may advertise these products as flushable, but just because you can doesn't mean you should.


text:
n October 2020, the Cupertino, California-based, tech giant presented its latest phone model, the iPhone 12, with one of its most innovative features – the MagSafe charging system that allows users to charge their smartphones with a wireless device. But the technology is reportedly dangerous for some.
The iPhone Pro Max 12 can create electromagnetic and radio waves that disrupt the work of pacemakers and defibrillators used by patients diagnosed with heart arrhythmia, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
The main cause is the MagSafe charging technology, that allows attaching a wireless charger to the iPhone case through the use of magnets. The latter help the wearer to precisely align the induction coils in the smartphone with the charger, preventing overheating and power loss.
For the experiment, experts used devices by the three most popular brands – Medtronic, Abbout and Boston Scientific, including both types of stimulators, internal and external. The iPhones were placed on participants’ skin, on the chest.
The results showed that smartphones caused malfunctions in 8 out of 11 external CIEDs and in 3 out of 3 internal. Experts stressed that this happened because the magnet reversion mode in CIEDs is disrupted by the external magnet embedded in the phone. The magnets in the latest iPhone are said to be strong enough to affect CIEDs.
“Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max MagSafe technology can cause magnet interference on CIEDs and has the potential to inhibit lifesaving therapy,” the authors of the study noted.
Experts strongly recommend those using pacemakers and defibrillators to keep the newest iphones at a distance as they are “able to trigger magnet reversion by placing the iPhone 12 Pro Max at up to 1.5 cm from certain CIED.”


text:
Maserati At Los Angeles Auto Show 2016 – Video
Southern California audiences will be able to celebrate their love of luxury vehicles with even greater enthusiasm at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, thanks to Italian automaker Maserati and the company’s upcoming U.S. debut of the new Quattroporte GranSport, along with the display of the entire Maserati product lineup.
Following the success of the new Quattroporte’s global reveal in Paris in September, the new Maserati flagship sedan features additional high-tech content in the area of on-board comfort and driver assistance, as well as exterior restyling and a new dedicated range strategy, introduced with the GranLusso and GranSport trims.
Additionally, the MY17 Ghibli sports sedan remains faithful to Maserati’s heritage while offering unmistakable class, top-quality performance and a thrilling yet comfortable driving experience, which means a more desirable premium sedan than ever before.
The scene is also dominated by the Levante SUV set to challenge the premium sport utility segment with its unparalleled luxury pedigree and rugged off-road capabilities. The all-new Levante SUV, which helped propel Maserati North America to record sales during that past two consecutive months, will also highlight the Los Angeles program.
The house of the Trident’s range wouldn’t be complete without the sporty GranTurismo model, which will also be on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
“Southern California is a very important market for Maserati’s U.S. sales, so the L.A. Auto Show is the perfect forum to share our entire product line,” said Tom Shanley, Head of Maserati North America. “Maserati’s eye toward the future, coupled with the strength of our dealer network in California, has had a positive impact on the brand and has helped increase our market share throughout North America. Whether you’re looking to drive up PCH in a GranTurismo Convertible, cruise down Rodeo Drive in a Quattroporte or Ghibli, or even venture up to the mountains in a Levante, Maserati now has a lineup of vehicles to meet your needs.”


text:
ScotRail is proposing changes to ticket office opening hours at stations throughout the country – aimed at delivering a better level of service for customers.
No members of staff would lose their job in this review of all customer-facing functions, and it will deliver improvements for people travelling, and better meet the needs of rail users.
ScotRail is undertaking the wide-ranging review of customer operations, such as ticket office opening hours, as it looks to transform the railway following the impact of the pandemic.
While some aspects of the travelling patterns of customers will return, others will never be the same, and the review will ensure the best possible service is provided to those using ScotRail services and stations.
From the proposed changes, we believe that we will:
- See less fare fraud and ticketless travel.
- Generate and protect more revenue.
- Reduce antisocial behaviour.
- Introduce new family friendly working hours and part time shifts which have not been prevalent in the past.
- Decrease CO emission by around 102 tonnes each year from less heating and lighting.
The review does not mean job losses, or a reduction in services:
- There will be no change to the number or frequency of rail services that call at any stations.
- The Station teams will not lose their jobs. There will be a job for anyone who wants one.
- Customer safety will not be impacted by these changes.
- Passengers with specific mobility or access needs will continue to be supported.
Before the pandemic, customers were increasingly using online options or Ticket Vending Machines, rather than ticket offices. There has been a 50 per cent drop in the use of ticket offices over the past 10 years, with the pandemic quickening that pace of change.
This dramatic shift in customer patterns prompted a review of the opening hours of ticket offices for the first time since 1991 to see if the needs of customers are still being met. The assessment has considered where there is a decline in tickets sales at stations, the opportunities that exist to reduce fraudulent travel, and how to increase revenue through more revenue protection teams.
Transport Focus, the independent watchdog for transport users, will conduct a public consultation on behalf of ScotRail seeking the views of customers about the changes we are proposing, which will begin on 12 January.
Customers can review the proposed changes at their stations via the website - https://www.scotrail.co.uk/scotrail-ticket-office-consultation
The most significant benefit of the proposed changes is to deliver a financially and environmentally sustainable railway that will deliver value for money for customers and taxpayers.
Phil Campbell, Head of Customer Operations, said:
“There has been no real review of our ticket office opening hours for 30 years, and it is important we keep up with the changing habits of customers who no longer rely on purchasing tickets in that way.
“With more than a 50 per cent drop in the use of ticket offices, heightened by the pandemic, we want to do everything we can to make sure everyone has a hassle-free journey.
“Nobody in ScotRail will lose their jobs as a result of these changes, and it is important to note that rather being about cutting jobs, this is about adding value for our staff and customers.
“Over the coming weeks we’ll be talking to customers, staff, and stakeholders about the improvements they can expect to see and experience as they travel around Scotland’s Railway.”


text:
S.C. Johnson to acquire Sara Lee division
Racine-based S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. has reached an agreement to acquire Sara Lee Corp.’s global household insecticides business, which markets brand name products in 41 countries throughout Asia, Europe, Russia and Africa.
“We are pleased that this deal, and the addition of the Ridsect, Bloom, Catch, Cucal, Pyrel, Vapona and Fumitox brands, helps SC Johnson further extend its reach to even more families around the globe for whom pest control products provide invaluable health protection,” said Fisk Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of S.C. Johnson.
S.C. Johnson expects the acquisition to be finalized by the end of the year after the customary regulatory clearances and is currently working on transition plans for the business. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.


text:
Textual content dimensions
Canada on Tuesday declared a ban on the import of goods suspected of remaining created employing compelled labor in China’s restive Xinjiang location, following a comparable transfer by Britain.
In a statement, the international ministry stated it was “gravely involved with proof and reports of human rights violations” in opposition to Xinjiang’s Muslim Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in the autonomous northwestern area.
The ministry lashed out at what it referred to as “repressive surveillance, mass arbitrary detention, torture and mistreatment, compelled labor and mass transfers of forced laborers from Xinjiang to provinces throughout China.”
The import ban and other steps, the Canadian govt said, had been rolled out in coordination with Britain and other worldwide partners in defense of Uighur legal rights and to protect against products created “wholly or in element” with compelled labor “from moving into Canadian and worldwide supply chains.”
Ottawa explained the steps, which also consist of export controls, aimed to prevent Canadian companies from getting to be “unknowingly complicit” in legal rights violations.
Legal rights teams say at minimum a person million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang have been incarcerated in camps. China describes the camps as vocational training facilities intended to provide an choice to Islamic extremism.
According to a March 2020 report by the Australian Strategic Plan Institute imagine tank, dozens of world brands, which includes Nike and Apple, have benefited from Uighur forced labor in the manufacture of their merchandise.
Relations in between Canada and China are at the moment at a lower, following Ottawa’s arrest on a US warrant of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and China’s detention of two Canadians, a transfer slammed by Western nations as retaliation.


text:
SINGAPORE, April 7 – Stronger connectivity in the region will boost the key role the Asean+3 region plays in the global value chain (GVC), as interdependence rather than independence will provide greater diversity and resilience to the GVC, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore, Indranee Rajah today.
In her opening address at a webinar – Global Value Chains in the Post-Pandemic “New Normal” Indranee, who is also Singapore Second Minister for Finance and National Development said the region remained a key part of the global supply chain amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
She noted that how at the onset of the pandemic, several economies in the region issued a joint ministerial statement on supply chain connectivity to reaffirm their commitment to maintain open and connected supply chain.
Participation in regional free trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will also help, she said, adding that she was looking forward to the early ratification of the RCEP.
At the webinar, Dr.Hoe Ee Khor, AMRO Chief Economist, presented the highlights of AMRO’s annual report, ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook, and he was joined by Deborah Elms, Founder and Executive Director of the Asian Trade Centre and Dr. Denis Hew, Director of Policy Support Unit in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation joined the discussion.
Digitalisation, the vulnerabilities as well as the strengths of GVCs and its reconfiguration in the face of challenges came into focus at the webinar organised by the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Officer (AMRO).
Pointing out the disrupted supply chains during the pandemic induced lockdowns, the speakers spoke on how technologies will continue to shape the GVCs, and that policy makers should continue to play a role in facilitating digitalisation across the region to increase its competitiveness.
These should include building enabling infrastructures to benefit from the 4th Industrial Revolution as well as strengthening global and regional frameworks to promote greater integration. ,
To a question on whether there will be a major relocation of GVCs in the region, Dr. Khor said: “Although we have seen some cross-border relocation of GVCs globally, the Asean+3 region will remain a highly attractive location of GVC investment in the post-pandemic world.”
The speakers also spoke of the ongoing tech tension between the US and China and its possible effects on the region. One concern raised was that of bifurcation, with China and the US advancing their technologies separately and creating devices that may not communicate with each other.
“However, this can be mitigated with interface technologies,” said Dr. Khor.


text:
“If I want something I want it, no matter what,” says Kezia, one of the protagonists of a new Slice TV series Princess, where Til Debt Do Us Part host Gail Vaz-Oxlade tries to put young, female serial shoppers through personal finance rehab. A makeup artist who normally makes “probably” around $30,000 a year, Kezia would shed up to $355 a month on her hairdo, and eat out “probably” four times a week. “I don’t ever look at my credit card statements,” the pretty (dyed) blond says, gazing dreamingly at the camera. “As soon as they come, I throw them away.”
Twenty-five-year-old Kezia belongs to a new species of consumer whose capacity to spend will surpass that of the boomers sometime in the next decade. Variously referred to as Generation Y or Generation Next, they are loosely defined as the age group going from kids in their early teens to young adults. In the U.S., eight- to 24-year-olds are expected to spend $224 billion of their projected $348 billion annual income, according to Harris Interactive, a market research and consulting firm. Yet the percentage of those who have no savings at all is over 50 per cent. The stats in Canada are equally troubling. For young adults, the proportion between the ages of 25 and 34 who say they are impulsive spenders and can’t save is 30 per cent, a figure very similar to the 31 per cent found among the so-called Generation X (or 35- to 49-year-olds), according to a recent study by the Royal Bank of Canada.
The recession was supposed to teach some important lessons about saving and living frugally, but Generation Y seems poised to fall into similar spending habits that left their parents with crippling debt. Whereas the financial crisis raised the national savings rate in the U.S. from a low of less than two per cent in 2007 to over eight per cent in mid-2009 (it is now at around five per cent), in Canada it edged up from 2.8 per cent on average three years ago to a still very modest 4.4 per cent overall this year. Despite this small effort to repair household balance sheets, four in 10 Canadians say they struggle to put a nickel in the piggy bank, according to RBC. It’s an unsettling trend for those preaching financial good sense.
How then to raise a breed of conscientious spenders and good savers (if not by example)? Part of the answer, say experts, is coming from financial institutions trying to stage a digital catch-up to the marketing industry that has so effectively targeted young spenders. Most savings products, says Dilip Soman at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, have “supremely boring advertising.” On the other end of the spectrum of the battle for young wallets, however, are marketing firms with a sophisticated arsenal of advertising tools. Their methods range from social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to guerrilla-style campaigns that use the power of peer pressure to encourage spending. (In one campaign for Neutrogena, for example, 4,000 high school girls were recruited to work as “brand evangelizers,” pitching the product to classmates and friends in exchange for prizes including concert tickets.)
Simple financial behaviours like saving, or making rational decisions about limited resources, must be embedded in a language young people understand—the same language that speaks to them about PlayStations and Coach bags, say experts. A group of U.S. researchers has had good results, for instance, by having young people interact with digital, retirement-age avatars of themselves as they make hypothetical savings decisions. In one case study, the expression on the avatars’ faces would display a smile or an unhappy grimace depending on the positive or negative impact of the savings decisions on the participants’ future financial situation. In all cases, the study says, participants who interacted with their aged avatars showed a greater propensity to forgo the instant pleasure of spending for the delayed pleasure of having and using savings in the future.
Another way to go about this is finding “smart ways of leveraging social networking,” says Alessandro Previtero at the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business. He says young people might find it easier to set and reach financial targets if they use something like StickK.com, a website designed by a team at Yale that helps people achieve their goals (from losing weight to quitting smoking) by, among other things, getting their friends involved. Much like friends on Facebook, supporters on StickK.com receive regular updates on status changes—in this case, a person’s progress toward the stated goal. If constructive use of peer pressure helps people shed their extra pounds or their pack of cigarettes, it could also help them save, says Previtero.
And whether the lesson comes from social networking or old-fashioned parenting, teaching youngsters how to set financial goals is key, says Patricia Domingo, an investment retirement planner at RBC. She recalls setting up a savings account and a guaranteed investment certificate for a 15-year-old who made $8,000 designing and selling a website. The parents, she said, sat him face to face with the family financial adviser so he’d be forced to think about what he should do with the money.
Other healthy practices, says Greg Holohan, an investment executive at ScotiaMcLeod, include openly discussing family income, utility bills and even investment strategies with the kids; encouraging them to use their allowance or summer job money to pay for some of their needs; and refusing to pay for everything. A good strategy, he says, might also be to tell the young ones that they have to pay for part of their college and university costs, but then reward them afterwards by paying them back and giving them a tidy sum to start with as they enter the job market.
Deborah Beedie, an account executive in Dundas, Ont., thinks she got it right. “Our kids can probably tell you how much we make, what we have in terms of investments and what bills come up when,” she says of sons Michael, 20, and Scott, 14. Whenever Scott gets his weekly allowance of $14 (one dollar per every year since he was born), he has to decide how much to put in one of three jars labelled “savings,” “spending” and “other.” Michael, a junior at Dalhousie University, had tuition, books and rent paid for, but must use summer job money to sustain his social life and contribute to food expenses. Apparently, he now has the grocery store mapped out according to product pricing and won’t even go near the middle of the alley where, he says, the more expensive stuff is on display.
Whether it’s trying to protect your kid from slick online marketing or the corner street dealer, says Beedie, all you can do is “have a value system that you can transmit”—leave the kids autonomy but know what they’re up to, and hope for the best.


text:
Japan plans to ensure that its decision to change the procedures on procuring telecom equipment, which could exclude Chinese makers, will not affect the 2 countries' relationship. Beijing is urging Japan not to exclude them.
The Japanese government decided to revise the procedures for procurement to take into account national security risks from next fiscal year, which starts in April.
The revision is aimed at preventing data leaks by cyberattacks.
The government says the change is not intended to ban specific companies. But products of Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE are expected to be effectively excluded.
The United States Trump administration plans to ban the 2 makers' products from government use.
Beijing says Chinese products have posed no threat to national security.
The Japanese government plans to explain to the Chinese side through diplomatic channels that the revision is in accordance with international rules, in hopes to avoid the matter to affect improving bilateral relations.


text:
E-commerce in light of the Covid-19 pandemic between opportunities and challenges
Chadli chaouki, Amel mehaoua
The study aims to identify the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on electronic commerce and the differences that will occur in transaction rates before and during the pandemic. This is to highlight the importance of electronic commerce, which has characteristics that could make a difference and compensating for the recession that struck the global economy, and It has been shown through the results that electronic commerce has played an important role in this pandemic, and the rates of electronic commerce has increased at significant rates. It remains that there are some activities in which transactions have decreased dramatically, such as travel and tourism, An obstacle appeared that prevented the development of the use of electronic commerce more than it is today, which is the logistical aspect, Which has decreased and affected the rates of electronic commerce.


text:
From the launch of its online streaming service fifteen years ago, Netflix positioned itself as a piracy competitor.
The idea was to take market share away from piracy sites, by offering a legal and more convenient streaming platform.
Initially, this seemed to work. Netflix amassed hundreds of millions of subscribers, some of whom left their piracy habits behind. However, as the ‘streaming wars’ turned legal and convenient streaming platforms into isolated and pricey content silos, momentum started to shift.
In recent years piracy started to grow again, including in well-served markets such as the United States. In theory, this may help Netflix in its battle with other legal platforms, but that’s a consolation prize if the war against piracy is lost.
There are no concrete signs that Netflix is crumbling, but piracy is a concern. This isn’t breaking news; piracy has been repeatedly highlighted as tough competition in the company’s 10-K filings at the SEC.
Piracy is a Tough Competitor
Earlier this week, Netflix submitted its latest 10-K filing. The mandatory document provides information that helps investors to gather key information about publicly traded companies. In the “competition” section of the annual overview, piracy is again mentioned several times.
Netflix explains that the online video landscape is a competitive business. New services and distribution models could impact the business of the leading video streaming platform. This includes legal competitors as well as piracy.
“The various economic models underlying these channels include subscription, transactional, ad-supported and piracy-based models. All of these have the potential to capture meaningful segments of the entertainment video market,” Netflix writes.
These are in part standard disclosures, as every company faces competition. However, Netflix believes that online piracy is particularly compelling because it’s free for consumers. That makes it very hard to compete against.
“Piracy also threatens to damage our business, as its fundamental proposition to consumers is so compelling and difficult to compete against: virtually all content for free,” Netflix writes.
Growing and Hard to Stop
When Netflix launched, its on-demand streaming experience was more convenient than most pirate sites. At the time, torrent sites were dominant but still required users to have some technical knowledge and the patience to wait for content to download.
Today, most pirate sites use on-demand streaming, taking away a major edge for Netflix. And because piracy is so compelling for consumers, it is growing rapidly worldwide, threatening legal services.
“In light of the compelling consumer proposition, piracy services are subject to rapid global growth, and our efforts to prevent that growth may be insufficient,” Netflix notes.
“If we are unable to successfully or profitably compete with current and new competitors, our business will be adversely affected, and we may not be able to increase or maintain market share, revenues or profitability.”
The concerns voiced by Netflix are real, but the company isn’t near its demise. These 10-K filings are supposed to detail risks and Netflix is not the only company mentioning piracy as a potential threat.
When we started looking for similar mentions by other businesses, we stumbled upon similar concerns and, strangely enough, some identical ones. Apparently, there’s quite a bit of copying going on, as SEC filings from several companies include identical passages.
Netflix: “In light of the compelling consumer proposition, piracy services are subject to rapid global growth”
Triller Corp: “In light of the compelling consumer proposition, piracy services are subject to rapid global growth”
FuboTV: “In light of the compelling consumer proposition, piracy services are subject to rapid global growth”
Redbox Entertainment: “In light of the compelling consumer proposition, piracy services are subject to rapid global growth”
IMAQ: “In light of the compelling consumer proposition, piracy services are subject to rapid global growth”
CuriosityStream: “In light of the compelling consumer proposition, piracy services are subject to rapid global growth”
We don’t know where these references originate. Netflix has mentioned it for a while, that’s for sure, and apparently, the use of this language is widespread and subject to rapid global growth.
It’s clear, however, that piracy is a concern for Netflix. While Reed Hastings wasn’t worried about piracy a decade ago, the company now spends millions of dollars tackling the problem.
The streaming giant joined the MPA a few years ago and is also a member of anti-piracy coalition ACE. In addition, Netflix also has an in-house anti-piracy department that keeps an eye on piracy threats.


text:
Fewer feed mills produced more animal feed than in 2019
Global animal feed production increased 1% in 2020 to 1,187.7 million metric tons, according to Alltech’s 2021 Global Feed Survey.
The survey included more than 28,000 feed mills in 142 countries. There were 3% fewer feed mills in 2020 than in 2019: 28,414 compared with 29,345. The survey pointed out that many countries fluctuated between an increasing and decreasing number of feed mills open.
The top 10 feed-producing countries produced 63% of global feed production, with China reclaiming its spot as the world’s largest feed producer after it saw a 5% increase in feed production.
“China has exceeded expectations, with an incredible rebound in 2020. It has resumed the position as the No. 1 feed-producing country and it started 2021 with strength,” said Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech.
The top 10 feed-producing countries are China, U.S., Brazil, India, Mexico, Spain, Russia, Japan, Germany and Argentina. Of these, Brazil saw the largest increase in production, at 10%, while India saw the largest decrease, at -5%. The top 10 feed-producing countries have average feed costs that are approximately 9% less than the global average.
Regionally, Latin America saw the biggest increase in production, at 4%, while production in Asia-Pacific was up 2%, and North American production was up 1%. Europe’s production was down 1% and production in Africa, the Middle East and Oceania were each down 2%.
COVID-19 and the global protein sectors
Aquaculture was the fastest-growing protein sector, at 3%. Pig and broiler feed were each up 1%, feed for beef cattle was down 1%, and feed production for layers and dairy cattle was flat.
The survey said avian influenza challenged the broiler and layer industries, especially in Europe.
“However, offsetting any declines in feed production due to these challenges was an increased interest in eggs as an inexpensive protein, particularly for those in economically suppressed areas,” it said.
Broiler feed production increases were led by Asia-Pacific and Latin America, while decreases in North America were a result of decreasing bird size and broiler placement in the U.S. and Canada.
The broiler industry “fared well due to the short growth cycle and the easy adaptability of production methods,” the survey said.
COVID-19 caused some early declines in broiler production with declines in restaurant and hotel business, but that was later offset by the increase in at-home cooking.
In the pig industry, the effects of COVID-19 were varied, but “feed production didn’t seem to be particularly adversely affected.”
African swine fever continues to affect the pig sector, but China has bounced back significantly and has ramped up pig production.
“As China returns to self-sufficiency, many other countries’ pork exports will decline in the coming years,” Alltech said.
COVID-19 had a major effect on the dairy industry supply chain, and dairy prices fell in several countries. Latin America’s dairy industry saw growth, primarily due to increased feed production for dairy in Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Peru.
The closure of restaurants due to COVID-19 restrictions also affected the beef industry, which saw a 1% decline in feed production. However, the U.S. saw a 1% increase in beef feed, and China’s increased production drove growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
The aquaculture sector’s growth is expected to continue to grow.
“While China is the primary leader in Asia-Pacific, the main growth in this region was seen in Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Philippines, accounting for nearly 1 million metric tons more of aquafeed,” the survey said.
Latin America and Oceania also saw growth in aquaculture feed, with Latin America’s growth led by Brazil and Ecuador.


text:
By Brian Ochsner (firstname.lastname@example.org) At this time of year, Memorial Day and now D-Day, we reflect upon the sacrifices that soldiers have made for our country. It's also good to look back at our economic history, review our successes and make sure we don't repeat our mistakes. The Democrat-controlled Congress now appears bent on repeating the disastrous economic blunders of the late 1920's and early 1930's. Namely, believing that higher import tariffs and income tax rates will make our economy more robust and 'protect' American jobs and incomes from foreign competition. That's like strangling the goose who lays the golden eggs. I'll tell you which two senators are today's Smoot and Hawley, and why this kind of misguided thinking is dangerous for America's economy.
In 1930 – when the US started its descent into the Great Depression - there was a hue and cry for Congress to 'do something' to help struggling farmers and workers. Sound familiar? President Hoover urged that tariff rates be reduced to promote trade, but Senator Reed Smoot and Rep. Willis Hawley (ironically, both Republicans) introduced a bill – the Smoot-Hawley Act - that increased tariffs to record levels on over 20,000 imported goods.
The debate on tariffs started in 1929. After the stock market crash in October, enough support was garnered to pass the bill. President Hoover then reluctantly signed it on June 17, 1930. It resulted in American exports plunging by over 65%, and pushed the US economy over the proverbial cliff. You may be asking – why am I bringing this up now, and why is it relevant today?
There's been recent talk from Senators Chuck “Smoot” Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsay “Hawley” Graham (R-SC) that 'something needs to be done' to correct the large trade deficit the US has with China. Senator Graham has complained about China's 'currency manipulation' and how it's hurt South Carolina textile manufacturers.
They believe that raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 27% will 'get China's attention,' force them to revalue the Yuan to more American-friendly rates, and level the playing field for US manufacturers.
Unfortunately, this is misguided economic stupidity. Even if the US Dollar and Chinese Yuan were at a 1 to 1 ratio, the US couldn't compete with Chinese slave labor, where workers are paid a fraction of what Americans earn for the same work. Not to mention their manufacturing facilities and infrastructure are more modern than ours. We've encouraged this activity by buying billions of dollars of cheaper Chinese goods over the past few years.
China is also our second largest holder of US Treasury debt behind Japan. Our congressmen are in no position to bully or demand anything from the Chinese about the Yuan-US Dollar exchange rate (or anything else). The Chinese are very financially savvy, and they'll lower the value of the yuan to the US Dollar on their terms – not ours.
If Congress did pass this economic insanity, it would be like you going into the office of your mortgage banker (who holds your largest debt) and slapping him in the face. Chinese lending has helped prolong the positive economic growth in the US over the past few years. Asian money along with cheap US interest rates extended the American prosperity party through booming real estate values. Many owners of real estate used their property as their personal ATM, kept spending this newfound cash to keep the good times rolling.
Given our huge balance of trade deficit, we need as much exporting to other nations as possible. Enacting these import tariffs and starting a full-blown trade war is the last thing our economy needs. My hunch is that President Bush will veto these tariffs, if they make it to his desk. However, given his judgment on other issues, that's not exactly a 'slam-dunk,' as George Tenet would say.
If these tariffs are signed into law by the President (or Congress overrides Bush's veto), I'm not saying we're heading into another Great Depression. But 'Smoot-Hawley 2007' wouldn't be a shot in the arm for the American economy. If (or when) this bill comes up for a vote, tell your Senator and Congressmen to vote no.
Doing nothing is much better than doing something stupid like this.


text:
This October, thousands of shops will team up with the National Autistic Society to hold Autism Hours.
Participating businesses will take simple steps to create a more autism-friendly experience, turning down music, dimming bright lights, and sharing information about autism with staff and customers. Over 5,000 shops and businesses took part last year, and the National Autistic Society wants even more to get involved in 2018.
Following the successful implementation of its own Quiet Hour initiative earlier this year, The Entertainer has pledged to support the campaign.
Mark Lever, chief executive at the National Autistic Society, said: “It’s wonderful to see so many well-known high street retailers already signed up. Thank you to The Entertainer for becoming our sponsor for Autism Hour 2018. With Autism Hour, we want to show retailers the small things they can do to help open up the high street for autistic people. It’s often the smallest change that makes the biggest difference.”
Having taken part in the National Autistic Society’s Autism Hour in 2017, The Entertainer trialled its own Quiet Hour throughout February half term in 2018, when the music in all of its 145 stores was turned off for the first hour of opening. The initiative was well received by customers and as a result, a Quiet Hour now takes place every Saturday morning in all stores.
Gary Grant, founder and chairman of The Entertainer, commented: “We are delighted to sponsor the National Autistic Society’s Autism Hour. We always strive to make our stores a happy place for people to visit and so it is imperative that we adapt our in-store environment to create a more comfortable space for autistic people. The Entertainer is somewhere for children to explore their imagination and become inspired by all of the toys available and so we hope by supporting Autism Hour, in addition to running our own Quiet Hour initiative, more families will feel confident when it comes to shopping with us.”
Find out how to get involved by visiting: www.autism.org.uk/AutismHour.


text:
PITTSBURGH — Just before the start to the Memorial Day weekend, Giant Eagle here announced it was expanding its foodperks! program in the Northeast Ohio region.
The program operated in conjunction with Giant Eagle’s GetGo fuelperks! rewards has been successful in driving traffic from the gas pumps to grocery aisles at stores in western Pennsylvania, Columbus, Ohio, and Frederick, Maryland, where Giant Eagle customers have collectively saved more than $33 million in groceries to date.
"With over one million Ohioans driving to their Memorial Day destinations this weekend, we're thrilled to launch foodperks! at a time when Giant Eagle customers can truly maximize their foodperks! earnings," said Dan Pastor, GetGo vice president of fuel and convenience stores, in a company statement on Friday.
With foodperks!, every 10 gallons of fuel pumped at GetGo locations with the Giant Eagle Advantage Card will earn customers a 1% discount off the price of a single trip's basket inside any Giant Eagle supermarket. The foodperks! rewards are cumulative and, just like fuelperks! rewards, are electronically tracked on the Giant Eagle Advantage Card to maximize customer convenience.
Read More of Today's Headlines


text:
IRVING, Texas — Wonder has introduced three new wheat breads that combine wholesome nutrition with the delicious taste of Wonder, the company said.
New Wonder 100% whole wheat, honey wheat and wheat sandwich varieties are free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, contain 25% less sodium than traditional wheat breads and have zero grams of trans fat. The packaging for all of Wonder's new wheat varieties feature "nutritional notes" that clearly display important nutritional facts to help consumers make informed choices, Wonder said.
"American families are increasingly opting for healthier foods and looking for ways to reduce their intake of sodium and increase the amount of dietary fiber and whole grains in their diets," said Stephanie Fletcher, brand manager for the bakers of Wonder. "Wonder makes it easier and more delicious to make healthy choices with our new line of wheat breads that offer the nutrition families want from a brand they know and love."


text:
ick Jarmany, Managing Director of Quixant, said: “We are very proud to be the first embedded customer to be awarded Elite member status in the AMD Fusion Partner Program. Quixant is a strong believer in AMD Fusion technology and the clear benefits it brings to customers.”
“The Quixant QXi-200, which utilises the AMD Embedded G-Series platform APU (accelerated processing unit), is already attracting significant business. Our customers are pleasantly surprised to be achieving results on the QXi-200 that previously required high-end platforms with their associated high heat generation and price. The QXi-200 provides the perfect balance of performance, size, low power and cost, all delivered on an embedded roadmap. Quixant’s inclusion in the AMD Fusion Partner Program will help our efforts to promote the benefits and adoption of this exciting technology throughout the industry, ” he concluded.
Commenting on the announcement, David Kenyon, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Channel Marketing of AMD said, “Extending the AMD Fusion Partner Program to our embedded customers illustrates the importance that we place on the embedded computing industry. Quixant was a critical launch partner for the AMD Embedded G-Series platform APU with its QXi-200 product, and continues to be a valuable partner in the promotion and delivery of products based on AMD Fusion technology.”


text:
Dublin is officially PASSING GO and getting it's very own Monopoly!
Before you tell us that Dublin is already on the Monopoly board, we'll have to stop you there.
The previous game was an Irish edition, but now the capital city is set to get its very own version of the board game.
The Irish edition of the game was discontinued in 2011 and now the creators of Monopoly have announced today this Dublin themed version.
This is where you come in...
The classic game will go into production in time for Christmas, and you can have your say.
Let Mr Monopoly know what Dublin landmarks should be on the board by emailing firstname.lastname@example.org.
Polls close at 23.59pm on 30th April 2018.


text:
Last month, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. completed the sale of 21 stores in Louisiana.
That sale brought A&P another step closer to a strategic strengthening of its core and historic operating area, the Northeast. Now there's just one step left: completion of its proposed $679 million buyout of rival Pathmark. When that deal is wrapped up, possibly as soon as this month, A&P will comprise more than 500 stores, all in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. A&P's headquarters are in Montvale, N.J.
The sale of its stores in Louisiana marked a sharp break with its long past in another way, too, since it included disposition of a store on Royal Street in New Orleans, A&P's oldest operating location. With last month's transaction, A&P not only completed the divestment of heritage areas such as Louisiana, but also of assets it gained during the 1980s, a time when it grew rapidly by acquisition. A&P's strategy of growth by acquisition was pursued by its former president and chief executive, James Wood. The buying spree started in 1981 with the purchase of 17 Stop & Shop supermarkets in New Jersey, the first time A&P had acquired stores from a competitor. Here's a sampler of what followed during that decade: A&P acquired Kohl's in Wisconsin, Dominion in Ontario, and Farmer Jack in Michigan. Closer to home, A&P acquired Shopwell in the Bronx and Waldbaum's on New York's Long Island.
In 1998, Christian W.E. Haub succeeded Wood as president and chief executive. Haub is a member of the family that controls the Tengelmann Group of Germany, which has owned A&P since 1979. Starting in 2003, A&P began its plan to pay down debt and restructure the company by spinning off outlying assets and becoming more geographically compact. A&P will still be a multi-banner operator, though, with stores under the names A&P, Waldbaum's, Food Emporium, Super Fresh and others — and soon Pathmark too.
The combination of A&P and Pathmark and the concentration on the Northeast is likely to prove to be a winning strategy. A&P's management will have its hands full integrating the sizable purchase of Pathmark and figuring out how to position it in the market. Early thinking is that A&P's banners will be positioned much as they are now. Pathmark's emphasis will remain oriented toward low-price provision. Some of the other banners, notably Food Emporium, will remain aimed at the higher end of the market. In any event, A&P's management can better execute whatever strategy emerges without the obligation to run chains in distant markets. A&P's strategies will also be bolstered by the financial flexibility afforded by proceeds of asset sales.
As for the newly divested stores in Louisiana, most were acquired by Rouses Markets, Thibodaux, La., as was reported in last week's SN. The sale may strengthen the Louisiana stores, too, since they will come under the management of a local operator who can cater to regional sensibilities better than a remote owner could.
Finally, with A&P's retrenchment to the Northeast, the chain will return fully to its roots — and what long roots they are. It was in 1859 that A&P's first store was opened, on Vesey Street in New York City. That street is now the northern boundary of the former World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan.


text:
Reminder: Berkshire County Superstore Accepting Online SNAP EBT Payments
With the pandemic in the rearview (kind of) many folks throughout Berkshire County are still feeling the financial effects that COVID caused over these past two-plus years. Some families have to prioritize which bills to pay in a given month while others have had to set up payment plans. Other Berkshire County families are having a difficult time finding affordable housing while current renters and/or homeowners can barely pay their rents or mortgages. With the colder temperatures settling in, some Berkshire County folks will surely have to go on fuel assistance this winter. Then there is the food aspect.
The cost of food has drastically risen over the past several months not just in Berkshire County but throughout the country as well. Just trying to get food on the table for the family can be a challenge. Food pantries throughout the Berkshires are struggling to keep food on the shelves so much so that for the first time in 23 years, the People's Pantry of Great Barrington is hosting a fundraiser which you can read more about by going here.
There's Some Good News for Berkshire County Folks That are on SNAP
For Berkshire County residents that pay for food items via SNAP EBT (and you can find out about SNAP eligibility by going here) you now can make online SNAP EBT payments at BJ's Wholesale Club in Pittsfield. As a matter of fact, the entire BJ's chain is accepting online SNAP EBT payments. In a September 2022 article published by Winsight Grocery Business, Monica Schwartz, EVP, and chief digital officer of BJ’s Wholesale Club made the following statement regarding the online payments option.
Over the course of the last few months, we’ve been actively working to expand our online SNAP EBT payment options for our members across all the states we currently do business in. We’re excited to announce that SNAP EBT payments are accepted online chainwide, allowing us to offer even more flexibility and convenience to all of our members.
You can learn more and check out the entire article by going here. It may seem like a small convenience but this is sure to save folks a lot of time when doing their shopping at BJ's.


text:
Sources close to Compaq said the PC maker may continue the trend elsewhere in the region and, potentially, to the United States, although no plans are currently in place.
"The world of personal computing is changing and we are changing with it," Ian Penman, managing director of Compaq Australia, said in a statement. He added that the stores will be branded with the Compaq name.
Compaq's decision comes at a time when traditional computer makers are trying to keep up with the rapid growth of companies such as Dell, which sell directly to the customer. Companies that sell directly to customers also have been able to sell for lower prices, or for more profit, because the costs associated with direct sales are lower.
A shift to direct sales, however, comes with its own problems, including conflicts with traditional computer dealers. Compaq's Australia plan is proving no exception. Harvey Norman, a retail group in Australia, has decided to drop Compaq products as a result of the new stores.
Analysts and computer executives have said that these conflicts can potentially lead to depressed sales as dealers switch allegiances to other brands.
It is uncertain whether Compaq will open stores in the United States, where PC retailing is in a state of flux. Major retailers, including CompUSA, are reducing their reliance on PC sales in favor of a wider variety of consumer electronics. Descending PC prices have eviscerated the profits on the machines, the stores have said. Electronics retailer The Good Guys has decided to abandon PC sales completely.
On the other hand, outlets owned or managed by major PC manufacturers are gaining in popularity. Gateway has attributed part of its recent sales growth to its Country Store outlets, where customers "test drive" Gateway computers before placing an online order.
In similar fashion, IBM is opening a "store-within-a-store" at select Best Buy outlets, which will feature only IBM products. IBM will help cover the cost of employees and operating expenses for the outlets.
Compaq has not opened retail outlets in the United States, but it has been emphasizing direct sales to customers via its Web site for more than year. Web sales are adding adding millions of dollars in revenue each month.
The rush to real estate, however, is not universal. Michael Dell, chief executive of Dell Computer, has said his company has no plans to get into stores. Retail sales, Dell has said, plateau over time, but expenses do not.


text:
Pune-based Wishpoint Tech Pvt Ltd that runs a price comparison portal in India called ShoppingWish.in has disclosed that it raised angel funding... ...http://techcircle.vccircle.com/2013/05/20/excl-shoppingwish-in-raises-angel-funding-from-sandeep-johri-others/
Bata, whose red and white painted outlets have traditionally initiated many an Indian into footwear shopping, is changing garb. The octogenarian... ...http://www.dnaindia.com/money/1836967/report-as-rivals-close-in-bata-steps-up-online-play
I was recently at a boardroom and a discussion here centred on how big e-commerce is, and how it is going to take India by storm in the future. Not... ...http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/1836769/column-the-rise-and-rise-of-e-commerce-in-india
Amazon is yet to launch their self-branded operation in the Indian market but their Junglee.com project has been doing rather well. Junglee has... ...http://techwhack.co/jungleecom-shop-offline-businesses-nearby-feature-44537/
Bollywood is celebrating its 100 years in existence, and one can't deny its effect on the masses in this time period. Here's a fond look at some of... ...http://www.merinews.com/article/100-years-of-indian-cinema-and-how-bollywood-songs-have-kept-pace-with-time/15885702.shtml
king o' jungle........


text:
Ten years after its founding, CropMetrics has been acquired by CropX.
Both companies have been building their businesses on remote sensing capabilities to enable agronomic decisions.
The acquisition will deepen CropX’s product offering says president John Vikupitz.
“We are the only company in the world today that has a software team, hardware team, and agronomy team all under one roof to provide the whole package to farmers,” he says. “Growers are dealing so many companies with very little coordination between the companies. The industry is going through a phase where we should expect to see some consolidations.”
He says this acquisition is one step in simplifying technology for the grower while also bringing them new capabilities.
“Look at the industry of data-driven agronomy, and you’ll see it needs to evolve so growers can find platforms that are friendlier when it comes to making decisions in the field,” he says. “A lot of companies provide a lot of data, but it’s too confusing and overwhelming. In the soil sensing arena, we are committed to provide highly accurate data that can automate decisions.”
He says CropX saw a lot of “nice synergies” in CropMetrics and they also appreciated the existing sales footprint in the Corn Belt. CropX was founded in 2015 and has its headquarters in Israel.
“We like that CropMetrics positions the trusted advisor close to the farmer to help them adopt new technologies and optimize how it can improve their farm,” Vikupitz says.
Of note, the company is already working to integrate CropMetrics’ variable-rate irrigation and soil moisture product into their hardware.
“We will continue to provide user friendly and data rich products,” he continues.
CropMetrics was founded in 2009 by Nebraska farmer Nick Emmanuel.


text:
A few weeks after the launch of the iOS 16 system, there were reports of several bugs in this system. At the time, it was explainable because a new system is expected to come with many bugs. However, four months down the road, it appears that things are getting worse. Four months after its launch, users are still reporting that there are still a large number of bugs in iOS 16. Some of these issues include slow keyboard pop-ups, random restarts, UI glitches, camera freezes, and more.
Apple released iOS 16 in September last year and has since released multiple follow-up updates to address bugs and provide security patches. The latest update to the operating system is iOS 16.2 which was released on December 13. iOS 16.2 brings a new Infinity Notes app which adds new features to the iPhone 14 Pro’s all-weather display, as well as new lock screen widgets, India 5G support, and more. According to user reports, in addition to the latest features, this update also brings many bugs and system glitches.
On Twitter, Reddit, MacRumors forums, and Apple’s official support website, users reported experiencing an unusually high number of bugs and poor system performance after the recent iOS 16 update. According to users, the issues range from Spotlight search glitches, keyboards not appearing in apps, rapid battery drain, camera app freezes, focus mode issues, Apple Music app bugs, HomeKit accessories not working, and CarPlay glitches.
iOS 16 bugs continue to increase
On Reddit, users report that the app could freeze after opening, or crash completely while in use. “This started happening after updating to iOS 16.2. The users claim that this crash happens with any app. If the app does not crash, it will freeze for a few seconds. Users complain that these crashes or freezes happen regularly.
Users also reported that issues with the Home app persisted after the iOS 16.2 update. A new feature of this update is an overhaul of the Home app’s architecture. Apple announced the new architecture in June, promising faster and more reliable HomeKit performance. However, after the release of the new app, users reported that there was a problem with the attachment not working. This forced Apple to withdraw the update in December, but this problem still exists in iOS 16.2.
Gizchina News of the week
Reports from users suggest that the problem isn’t limited to any particular iPhone model. The report reveals that even users of the latest iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are worse hit. It still has a long-standing issue where users swipe up to close an app and there will be delays. iOS 16.2 was released last month after testing with developers and public testers since October. Through the testing period in October, November, and December, Apple released five updates that addressed bugs and issues reported by testers. Given that some users have encountered a lot of bugs on iOS 16.2, Apple may release iOS 16.2.1 to fix these problems before releasing iOS 16.3 in a few weeks.
Installation rate growth slows down
After the release of the iOS 16 system in September, the growth rate of the installation of the iOS 16 system has been good. However, after just four months, it appears that the installation rate is now slowing down. Throughout December last year, there was a significant drop in the installation of this system. This slowdown should have links to several issues with the iOS 16 system. This is probably why many users are not so keen to upgrade to the new system.
A full 16 weeks after its release, iOS 16 adoption finally hit 70% on January 1, 2023, according to Mixpanel. The adoption rate of the new system hit 66% in mid-November. In other words, it was only up 4% for the whole of December. The Mixpanel data also reveals that in the first few weeks after the release, the number of iOS 16 installations surged, But this only brought the adoption rate to about 40% of the total. In mid-November, shortly after the release of the 16.1.1 version, there was a second surge. This second surge brought the total adoption rate to about 66%. After that, the speed slowed down, and the installation rate of the system rose from 66% to 70% after more than a month.
iOS 16 three-phase adoption rate
We can see that the surge in the adoption of the iOS 16 system has been in three stages. One is the early upgraders, who want to update as quickly as possible. Users of the second stage are more cautious, and they do not upgrade until the bug has been eliminated by upgrading multiple versions. Then there’s the last group of about 40% who don’t seem to care much about the new version of iOS.
According to some analysts, one of the reasons why users are not excited about upgrading the new iOS system is that the old iOS system is already a relatively mature operating system. They claim that it already has all the functions that most iPhone users really need. iOS 16 brings some welcome improvements, but no particularly significant changes. Thus, many users don’t feel the need to upgrade.
In addition, another reason why users do not upgrade the iOS system is Apple’s fault. There are still many bugs in iOS 16. Users are afraid that upgrading to the new system will affect the use of mobile phones. In addition, many users think that upgrading to the new system will slow down the mobile phone. Although this is not necessarily true, many users do think so and this is what matters.
Have you upgraded to iOS 16 yet? Do you experience issues with the system? Let us know in the comment section below.


text:
“Decoupling” from the People’s Republic has become the flavor of the month. When it comes to commerce between the United States and China, however, it will be a tough row to hoe.
Unlike the Soviet Union during the Cold War, China is deeply integrated into the global economy and cannot simply be shunned until it begins to act responsibly. Perhaps the liberal economies of the West should have held out for more reforms before letting China into the World Trade Organization, but that is largely water under the bridge. The United States and its democratic allies have too much invested in China and are too dependent on Chinese goods to make a sharp break feasible. That said, Washington can and should develop a mechanism for ensuring that the United States is not dependent on strategic goods “made in China.” What is needed is a Committee on Foreign Imports to the United States—a CFIUS 2.0.
Thousands of products imported into the U.S. have components made and assembled in China by Chinese companies or Western companies operating in China. Putting an end to these imports might be a blow to China but it would be a substantial blow to American consumers as well. On the other hand, American exports to China of commodities like soybeans and corn are a significant part of the American economy. American farmers and their allies in Congress are not going to tolerate policies that disrupt that trade for long. Even President Trump has had to back away from his trade-war rhetoric in order to reopen those commodity markets for American farmers. Given the recession we are now in, it would be an “own goal” at this moment to rush into an economic decoupling with China.
However, we do need a way of ensuring that American health and national security are not compromised by unnecessary dependencies on products and supply chains directly linked to China. One possible means for doing so would be to use the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) as a model for how to deal with imports that create critical dependencies.
CFIUS was created during the Ford Administration as a way for preventing foreign entities from buying American assets that were judged to be of high strategic importance. It was given the power to review and, if justified, ask the President to block transactions that impaired American security in a broad sense. An intergovernmental body, drawn from key departments, drives this process and provides a means for vetting risks posed by these investments to national security.
Regulating imports using a similar framework would be a more complicated but not an impossible task. The key would be, first, to identify those areas where U.S. security and public health might be most affected by the source and design of a foreign import. Our recent experience with Huawei would put a wide range of technologies into this category. So would the discovery of American dependence on Chinese suppliers of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, never mind critical minerals. The goal would be to establish a set of sectors considered vital to American security and wellbeing—and, in turn, to identify supply chains that are not beholden to potential adversaries.
This program would not be simple to implement. It would begin with the definition of what constitutes a strategic product. Although foreign suppliers of these commodities and goods would be relatively easy to identify, American suppliers would also need to review their supply chains to make sure that some crucial element or component of their final product is not vulnerable. This approach assumes that most strategic products can be produced outside of China. There may be exceptions but, for most goods and commodities, finding alternative suppliers should not be an issue given that they will have an American market without Chinese competition.
It’s likely that culling strategic products from Chinese manufacturing and suppliers will increase the cost of those items. But that marginal “tax” is potentially a small price to pay for greater security. It’s also possible that American companies will jump to claim their products are strategic and deserve protection. Reliable reports suggest that some companies are already seeking special protection from Chinese and other competitors. Real discipline and oversight will be needed in order to ensure that this effort does not evolve into a simple mercantilist initiative. The experience of the CFIUS program may be instructive. In most years, fewer than a handful of cases receive committee scrutiny, and serious action is only taken in a small proportion of those.
China is indeed a bad actor, but it is also a global economic power from whom we cannot simply file for divorce. Concentrating our efforts on preventing another Huawei or another pharmaceutical crisis would be the start to a smarter and more feasible approach.


text:
Marijuana open for business?
(ABC 6 News) – At Hempire in Rochester, a man was at the door when the store opened at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday morning ready to buy marijuana seeds. Up until Tuesday that was illegal. But seeds are the only thing that can be sold right now.
The state is still in the process of setting up the Office of Cannabis Management to regulate sales of marijuana itself. They expect to be ready for business to sell in 2025. That’s around the same time the City of Rochester is allowing sales to start under a recently passed city ordinance.
The news laws also mean added work for business owners. They’re now required to register to sell products that contain less than 0.3% THC — products that were already legal.
Besides that, it is selling seeds and waiting to sell the real stuff.
“Yeah, they got to get a whole committee together to make the regulations and stuff too and the other thing is we have to be able to apply. We can’t even apply yet. So, the only thing you can really do today is smoke marijuana at home, you can have possession of it, and you can have plants,” said Shelly Buchanan the owner of Hempire.
She hopes legalization burns out the stigma surrounding marijuana.
“I think our biggest thing is education. We want to explain to be people what this might do for you, how this might help you, or whatever,” said Buchanan.
She says the entire process has been confusing and frustrating, even customers too. Under the new law even though she owns multiple stores – she will only be able to sell marijuana legally at one of them.
Olmsted County is also considering an ordinance similar to the one passed by the City of Rochester where sales wouldn’t be allowed until 2025, but that was tabled at the commissioner meeting on Tuesday.


text:
According to the online survey conducted by Capital and the Statista Institute, 20,000 workers were able to evaluate their own business. The kangaroo kids company, specializing in childcare has won first place in the medico-social sector. For addiction, the company specializes in home health care,Orkyn, resulting in first, followed by O2 Homes Service and Azae.
Last October, the Statista Institute contacted 45,000 people working in French companies in the social sphere with more than 500 workers. In the end, they chose 20,000 people who interviewed anonymously. Thousands of respondents were able to decide on the company's human resources policy. 2,100 companies were rated on 10, and the first 500 were selected.
More information at Capital web page
This information is also available in: Spanish


text:
Co-op launches Europe’s most extensive collection scheme for plastic bags, crisp packets and food wrappings
09 July 2021
Co-op has today (Friday, 9 July) announced the launch of Europe’s most extensive in-store recycling scheme for plastic bags and product wrapping. The rollout of the scheme is set to see the convenience retailer become first UK supermarket to have fully recyclable food packaging by the end of this month (July) and, help tackle the confusing postcode lottery of kerbside collections.
Recycling units for ‘soft’ plastics will launch in 1,500 Co-op stores this month (July) and 2,300 stores by November. The initiative ensures all Co-op’s own food packing is easily recyclable by establishing an accessible disposal route for materials which are unlikely to be collected by UK councils, including: crisp packets, bread bags, single-use carrier bags and bags-for-life, lids from ready meals and yogurt pots, biscuit wrappers and pet-food pouches.
The in-store units – which also accept packaging for food products purchased in other retailers - means that all of Co-op’s own food packaging is easy-to-recycle either via kerbside collection or through the in-house closed loop system. The retailer estimates that 300 tonnes of plastic bags and food wrapping could be collected per year once the bins are fully in place.
The national roll-out of the scheme follows a successful 50 store film collection trial last year which found that 86% of shoppers were likely to use the service.
It is also designed to reassure concerned communities that the plastics collected will be recycled in the UK. The recyclable material is turned, by Jayplas*, into post-consumer plastic granules which are then made into useful secondary products – including: bin liners; rigid products such as buckets, and material for the construction industry - rather than flooding land-fill sites, going to incineration or, being shipped overseas.
In some areas, less than 30 per cent of waste from households is currently recycled, with systems which can vary from council to council adding to the confusion. Estimates from WRAP suggest that just 6% of plastic bags and wrapping from UK households is recycled each year, while (by weight) it makes up around a fifth of all plastic packaging. The elimination of unnecessary plastics is balanced against the need to minimise food waste.
Jo Whitfield, Co-op Food CEO, said: “As we face into an environmental crisis, we know from our feedback that there is a universal appetite for change. Which is why we are making it easier for thousands of households to recycle all of their plastic food packaging. This will not only prevent unnecessary waste but also reduce plastic pollution. By offering a simple and convenient solution to an everyday issue, we believe we can help communities to make small changes, that together will add up to a big difference for our environment.”
Helen Bird, Strategic Technical Manager from WRAP, said: “There’s no doubt that unnecessary plastic needs to be reduced; including bags and wrapping which is a fifth of all consumer plastic packaging. However, where it is necessary it is urgent to design it for recycling and ensure recycling systems are in place. It’s great to see the roll out of collections across Co-op’s stores significantly contributing to the goal of The UK Plastics Pact for all plastic packaging to be recyclable by 2025. Not only is the Co-op ensuring that the service is widely promoted, it is processing the material within the UK, demonstrating how we can build back better for the economy and environment.”
The roll-out will be supported by a nationwide, multi-channel marketing campaign – as part of a new partnership with ITV, a new Co-op TV Ad will debut during the Coronation Street ad-break this evening (Friday, 9 July).
Co-op has always been at the forefront of removing hidden plastic and unnecessary packaging, from removing plastic stems from cotton buds before any other retailer 14 years ago, banning microbeads and, removing black (so called ‘vanity’) plastic from shelves in 2019.
In May, Co-op unveiled its new ten-point climate plan which sets out a blueprint for the retailer to achieve net zero for its direct and indirect carbon emissions by 2040, including offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions of Co-op products and services.
Please contact Victoria Simons or Andrew Torr in Co-op Press Office.
Co-op Press Office
Co-op Press Office
Notes to editors:
__*About Jayplas - __Jayplas was established in 1975 and with almost 40 years' experience in the plastic recycling industry, is the UK market-leader in post-consumer recycling. Its core business is: Collecting, sorting and processing industrial quantities of a whole variety of used plastics into feed stocks for packaging companies and, manufacturing a diverse range of plastic bags using specialist plant located at a number of our sites. By working attentively with its clients, and investing in leading-edge processing technology, it can - and does - deliver managed, convenient and efficient recycling solutions. It provides customers with the opportunity to 'close the loop' by taking businesses' waste plastic material and returning it to them in a re-usable form. This practice: helps maximise returns by treating customers waste as a resource; enhances 'zero-waste to land fill' drives and, reduces carbon footprints.
__About Co-op - __Co-op is one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives with interests across food, funerals, insurance and legal services. Owned by over 4 million UK consumers, the Co-op operates 2,600 food stores, over 800 funeral homes and provides products to over 5,100 other stores, including those run by independent co-operative societies and through its wholesale business, Nisa Retail Limited. Employing over 60,000 people, the Co-op has an annual turnover of £10 billion. As well as having clear financial and operational objectives, the Co-op is a recognised leader for its social goals and community-led programmes. The Co-op exists to meet members’ needs and stand up for the things they believe in. When Co-op Members buy Co-op branded products and services, they receive a 2p for every pound spent reward, and the same amount is donated to its Local Community Fund for local causes and a new Community Partnerships Fund, intended to support communities through like-minded national charities and organisations.