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DJI wants to make your data safer on its internet-enabled drones.
The company has launched a new Local Data Mode that halts data traffic between the drone and its DJI Pilot app, “in order to provide enhanced data privacy assurances for sensitive government and enterprise customers.”
Translation: DJI’s drones are now safer for all your spying needs.
When Local Data Mode is activated, the app stops sending or receiving any data over the internet, which the company notes adds an additional layer of security for flights that involve “sensitive missions.”
Keeping things extra secure, telemetry data on flight logs, like altitude, distance and speed, will remained stored on the drone even if the user deactivates Local Data Mode.
However, since the new mode blocks all data, more responsibility is put on the pilot for maintaining a safe and legal flight, since the app will not be able to detect the user’s location or show the map and geofencing information such as ‘No Fly Zones’ and temporary flight restrictions.
This could be especially tricky in Canada, where recreational drones face some fairly restrictive rules.
DJI notes on top of the loss of those services, when a drone is in Local Data Mode it will not notify drone operators of firmware updates.
Regardless of whether the mode is switched on or not, photos and videos captured are always stored locally on the drone’s SD card.
The mode will be available in the next update of the DJI Pilot app on its CrystalSky remote and select Android tablets.
To activate it, drone operators can open the DJI Pilot app, click on ‘Activate LDM Mode’ and enter a password that will be required to deactivate the mode when they decide to go online again.


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Nokia 5.3 set to launch in India soon
Nokia 5.3 comes with HD+ display and quad cameras on the back
Nokia 5.3 rumoured to launch sometime in September
Nokia 5.3 is coming to India and the company has started teasing the launch of the phone on its official social media handles. Earlier, the Nokia 5.3 listing went live on the Nokia India website hinting at its imminent launch, revealing everything there is to know about the phone.
— Nokia Mobile India (@NokiamobileIN) August 18, 2020
Nokia 5.3 was officially announced in March alongside Nokia 8.3, Nokia 1.3 and Nokia 5310 (2020). It comes with an HD+ screen, quad cameras on the back and runs on stock Android 10. Let’s take a brief look at the specifications and expected pricing of Nokia 5.3.
Nokia 5.3 specifications and expected pricing
Nokia 5.3 features a 6.55-inch HD+ (1600 x 700 pixels) resolution display with a waterdrop notch cutout on the front that gives it a 20:9 aspect ratio. The screen is topped with a layer of Gorilla Glass 3 for added protection against regular wear and tear. It measures 8.5 millimetres in thickness and weighs 185 grams.
The Nokia 5.3 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 with an octa-core processor and Adreno 610 GPU. This is paired with 3GB/4GB/6GB of RAM and 64GB storage with an option to further expand it by using microSD card. It runs on stock Android 10 out-of-the-box.
The phone comes with a quad-camera setup on the back that consists of a primary 13MP camera with an f/1.8 aperture, a 5MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor. The rear cameras can record in upto 4K UHD at 30FPS. On the front, there is an 8MP selfie camera housed within the notch cutout.
There’s a fingerprint sensor on the rear panel and the Nokia 5.3 is fitted with a 4,000mAh battery with regular 10W charging speeds. It is priced starting at EUR 189 which roughly translates to around Rs 16,500 by direct conversion, but we expect it to be priced much aggressively upon launch in India.

domain: news


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Artists co-op plans pop-up shop
- Glass blowing, metal working, painting and printmaking will be featured
- Shoppers will be eligible to win a piece of art from a local artist
CHAMBERSBURG -- The FOUNDRY Artist Cooperative continues to take shape as the new initiative by Downtown Chambersburg Inc. plans to shine a spotlight on the talents of local artisans with live demonstrations this weekend on Small Business Saturday.
Glass blowing, metal working, painting and printmaking artisans will be demonstrating 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 100 S. Main St.
“We wanted to take advantage of Small Business Saturday to give shoppers the opportunity to buy art from local artisans, see the art making process in person and learn more about this new artist cooperative,” said Noel Purdy, president of DCI.
Small Business Saturday is one of the best retail events of the year for downtown merchants, according to a news release from DCI. The FOUNDRY is participating in the Small Business Saturday Downtown Dollars Giveaway, in which a purchase of $25 more at a participating downtown business this Saturday -- Nov. 28 -- makes the customer eligible to take part in a drawing for $10, $25 or $100 in Downtown Dollars. The drawing will take place at the Courthouse Plaza from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Over $2,300 will be given away that day.
Shoppers at The FOUNDRY will also be eligible for a drawing to win a piece of art from a local artist.
The FOUNDRY is both a retail store with exhibit space and a hub for the artist community. Pop-Up Shops are scheduled throughout the holiday season. The group plans to renovate the retail space after the holidays. Over 25 local artists are selling their work throughout the holiday season.
With an official kick-off planned for January 2016, The FOUNDRY will be giving the community a sneak peek of what local artists have to offer with several Pop-Up Shop dates this fall and early winter. These events will be located at The FOUNDRY’s Main Street retail space on the following days:
- Saturday, November 28 for Small Business Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Friday, December 4 from noon to 9 p.m. (the First Friday Cocoa Crawl will be from 5 to 8 p.m.)
- December 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The FOUNDRY can be found online at www.foundryartscoop.com. Artists interested in joining or businesses interested in supporting the co-op may contact Purdy at email@example.com or 717-264-7101 ext. 207.
More information about the Downtown Dollars Giveaway can be found on Downtown Chambersburg’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DowntownChambersburgPA.


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MoviePass, the subscription service that gives people unlimited access to movie theater tickets, has been bleeding money since it dropped its price from as high as $44.95 to a flat $9.95 a month last August. The lower price attracted millions of new subscribers, as well as an onslaught of customer service issues and complaints over jarring changes to its terms of service. The company is searching for another round of capital to stay afloat, and now it’s facing a bigger threat: Movie theaters are starting to compete by offering subscription services of their own.
Cinemark, which has 339 theaters in the US, launched a Movie Club in December that’s already attracted 230,000 members; it offers subscribers one movie ticket a month for $8.99 and a 20% discount on concessions. AMC, with 649 US theaters, came out with Stubs A-List in June, which lets subscribers see three movies a week for $19.95 a month. Regal Cinemas has also considered testing demand-based pricing that would make it cheaper to go to one of its 561 theaters during off-peak periods. Meanwhile, small cinemas like Alamo Drafthouse, a national chain with dozens of theaters, are experimenting with their own subscriptions that make it more affordable to regularly go the movies.
They’re all riffing off MoviePass’s simple premise: Customers choose a movie, time, and theater through its app. When they get to the theater, they check in to the movie on the app, and their MoviePass debit card automatically fills with the ticket price. Then they use that debit card to buy their tickets.
“[MoviePass] changed the ticket-buying paradigm,” Jeff Bock, a senior box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations, told BuzzFeed News. “Whether MoviePass is around or not, it definitely will have an enduring legacy.”
MoviePass, owned by the analytics company Helios and Matheson, had a game-changing proposition when it first launched in 2011 — offer a cheap monthly movie theater subscription, pay the difference in ticket prices to theaters, and recoup the loss through advertising for independent film productions and discounts on services and products for companies like Lyft, Uber, and Starbucks.
“People are using MoviePass to take risks and see small films that don’t benefit from marketing dollars,” MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe told BuzzFeed News. “What did AMC do to reinvigorate the movie business other than raise the prices every year? We’re introducing a model we should’ve seen years before.” (According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, ticket prices have remained fairly steady. The average ticket price in 1977 was $2.23, which would be $9.40 when accounting for inflation; while in 2017, the average cost was $8.93.)
MoviePass is growing quickly: In June, it announced it had more than 3 million subscribers and expects to reach 5 million by the end of 2018. It reported it makes up more than 5% of total US box office receipts, with its peak weeks nearing 8%. When it advertises films to its subscribers, it said its share of box office receipts increases to over 30%.
The company said it makes additional money by taking a cut of film revenue by advertising to its subscribers on behalf of independent film distributors, which it’s done for the films American Animals and John Travolta’s Gotti.
But shares of MoviePass’s parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics have fallen dramatically since October. In May, the company reported it is burning through its cash reserves, spending an average of $21.7 million a month, and it had only $15.5 million left at the end of April. Although it reported $48 million in revenues, MoviePass lost $98.3 million in the first quarter of this year.
“They need more agreements with movie theaters where you can get discounted tickets and steer subscribers toward certain films,” said Eric Wold, an analyst with B. Riley FBR, to BuzzFeed News. “It was going to take a number of years to get to the level of subscribers where it was relevant and it would take a lot of capital to get to that point. ... But it’s tough to see if it can get to that point now with other competitors.”
Lowe told BuzzFeed News MoviePass is on track to break even, or lose only $1 per subscriber, by the end of 2018. By year-end, Lowe expects to increase the company’s revenue by rolling out a “night at the movies concept,” a payment system that allows subscribers to use their debit cards to pay for discounted services at specific restaurants or other merchants like Starbucks or care.com, a startup that helps people find caregivers for children or seniors.
“Since we know the theater that you’ll watch a movie at, we know the cafés and restaurants around you that have offers,” said Lowe. “Or we know you love comedies, so we’ll promote, on behalf of a studio, a comedy we think you might like. Every one of these has an opt-out component. The idea is to make it more valuable to use our service as your guide.”
AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron, who has expressed skepticism of MoviePass’s business model, told investors in a March call, “We think [MoviePass is] a great concept. We think their price point is unsustainable.”
Aron said the company’s records indicate that several hundred thousand of MoviePass subscribers showed up at AMC theaters in January an average of 2.7 times each. MoviePass paid AMC more than $32 for each subscriber who showed up that month and paid about $11.90 per movie ticket.
Aron announced AMC’s movie subscription program to investors in June, saying the company estimates they can increase the company’s annual earnings by $15 million to around $25 million if each member makes no more than 2.5 movie theater visits each a month.
“Looking at the economics, it is so crucial that we design a program that will allow us to be capturing a higher price than what others are charging because that makes possible success for AMC, while other discounters, by contrast, will continue to be hemorrhaging cash,” Aron told investors on the call.
An AMC spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that it is “not interested in getting into a back and forth with anyone” on the topic of competing with MoviePass on subscriptions. It also declined to respond to questions about why customers might choose the more expensive AMC option over MoviePass. AMC Stubs A-List does have an advantage in that, unlike MoviePass, it allows subscribers to see the same movie more than once, it doesn’t require a debit card to use, and it’s the same price for any movie format, including IMAX or 3D.
Whether MoviePass can survive this competition or not, Bock with Exhibitor Relations told BuzzFeed News that its failures and successes will have an enduring impact on the future of movie theater subscription programs.
“Can they keep leading? Can they even finish out the summer?” he said. “Over [the] long term, whether MoviePass is here or not, the fact Cinemark and AMC have programs is great news for moviegoers.”


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Twitter rolls out a premium advertising offering
10.02.2016 313 views
Twitter’s First View lets marketers ensure their promoted tweets load on the first screen a Twitter user sees when he opens the app or visits Twitter.com.
Twitter Inc. today rolled out a premium advertising offering called First View that lets a marketer ensure that, for a 24-period, consumers will see only that brand’s promoted tweets load on the first screen Twitter users see when they open the app or visit Twitter.com.
“Each day, millions of people come to Twitter to engage in conversations about their passions and every topic of interest that continually shapes culture,” writes Deepak Rao, Twitter’s revenue product manager, in a blog post. “At the same time, marketers come to Twitter to reach this live, premium audience through promoted trends and promoted moments, creating significant brand moments for their product launches, event sponsorships and film premieres. Now, with First View, marketers can scale their efforts even further.”
Twitter says it is introducing First View to managed clients in the United States, with plans to expand it globally in the next few months. First View is the first significant new product Twitter has launched since product chief Kevin Weil, along with several other executives, left the social network last month. Twitter will report its fourth quarter earnings tomorrow.
Source: Internet Retailer


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CLEVELAND, OH—OMNI Systems, one of America’s premier thermal label printing companies, is set to complete its acquisition of ITW Labels, a company with a 110-year history and operations in St. Charles, MO, Gardner, KS and Bogart, GA. This combination enables the delivery of a broad array of label printing needs for commercial customers, including many of the world’s best-known brands.
“Unifying our companies’ strengths creates powerful synergies. Together, we have an opportunity to generate amazing momentum,” sad Adam DeFrancesco, CEO and founder of OMNI Systems. “ITW Labels is a legendary provider in our industry, and we are proud to welcome them into the OMNI Systems family.”
ITW Labels offers nationally recognized, high-quality converting operations, producing custom and stock labels for the consumer packaged goods, durable and retail markets. The company serves more than 4,000 customers worldwide and helps present well-known brands such as Husqvarna Group, General Mills Corporate (Parent), PepsiCo Inc (Corporate) and many others with vivid, brand-true colors and durable printing that stands up to heavy use.
OMNI Systems is purchasing ITW Labels from Illinois Tool Works, a global industrial company with seven key business segments: automotive OEM, construction products, food equipment, polymers and fluids, test and measurement and electronics, specialty products and welding.
OMNI Systems, founded in 1990, is headquartered in Cleveland. Prior to its acquisition of ITW Labels, OMNI Systems was already the largest privately owned label converter in the US, serving as thermal media supplier to many of the world’s largest brands, including Amazon.com, Tyson and leading Fortune 500 companies. They produce thermal labels, top- coated direct thermal labels, thermal transfer labels, barcodes, custom labels and other label products for a broad array of industries. The company delivers industry leadership in quality and service and guarantees the lowest prices and longest fixed pricing on all labels.
“We are in a prime position, being privately held, debt-free and our own platform company,” said DeFrancesco. “We are pursuing long-term legacy growth of $300MM+ in 5-7 years as a full product line provider of intellectual property and resources. We can deliver exceptional quality and price in labels for industrial, medical packaging, membrane switches, front panel overlays, merchandise, prime, security and countless other needs.
“The expansion quadruples OMNI Systems’ geographical footprint and adds highly skilled employees and advanced equipment with new printing capabilities. “This move expands our capacity dramatically,” said DeFrancesco. “We can now reach new industries and markets and achieve deeper penetration into existing markets.
“Keeping the two companies’ plants in their locations and protecting the employees was key for us, because in this case, it makes the best business sense,” said DeFrancesco. “OMNI Systems and ITW Labels had practically no customer overlap. The types of printing media and applications are completely different. Customers from both sides can benefit from a new, larger organization with more capacity and expertise than ever before.”
“This move aligns our companies—ITW Labels and OMNI Systems—for success for years to come,” said Dean Ketchum, business unit manager of ITW Labels. “This is a great day for both of our companies—and it is a credit to years of strong performance by both sides to reach this point.”
OMNI Systems was represented in the transaction by Peter Schaefer of New Direction Partners, based in Valley Forge, PA, and Melanie Yermack, managing director of the Packaging Investment Banking Group of Mesirow, based in Chicago, IL.


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On October 10, 2017, New York State Supreme Court Justice Carmen Victoria St. George heard oral arguments from the attorneys for Theo Chino and the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) concerning the NYDFS’s motion to dismiss Chino’s challenge to its BitLicense regulations, and Chino’s request for limited discovery.
Chino’s amended complaint, which was filed in May 2017, claimed, among other things, that the NYDFS exceeded its authority because virtual currency is not a financial product or service, that the regulations imposed arbitrary and capricious requirements, and that the state regulation was preempted by the Dodd-Frank Act. The NYDFS filed its motion to dismiss in June 2017, arguing that (1) Chino lacked standing to challenge the regulation; (2) the regulation was within the agency’s authority; and (3) Chino failed to demonstrate the regulation was unreasonable. In August 2017, Chino filed a motion for limited discovery and to hold the NYDFS’s motion to dismiss in abeyance.
At the recent hearing, Chino’s attorney, Pierre Ciric, argued that Chino had standing because he had business relationships with bodegas to provide bitcoin payment processing for customers who use bitcoin to pay for phone cards sold by the bodegas, believed he was subject to the BitLicense regulations as he controlled bitcoin keys used for the payment processing, and closed his business because of the enormous compliance costs imposed by the regulations. Additionally, Ciric reiterated Chino’s position that the NYDFS exceeded its authority because virtual currency was not a financial product, and thus, the agency does not have the power to regulate it. Ciric also challenged the regulations as unreasonable because they impose enormous compliance costs on businesses, exceed the requirements imposed on other financial institutions and money transmitters, and could regulate blockchain technology companies that are not engaging in financial transactions, such as those that place digital art on a blockchain.
Jonathan Conley argued on behalf of the NYDFS that Chino lacked standing to challenge the BitLicense regulations because he did not discontinue his business due to any action by the NYDFS, but instead due to his “understanding of how the regulation might have impacted his business in the future.” Conley also argued that the state legislature gave the NYDFS broad authority, and the Dodd-Frank Act preserved, rather than preempted, state consumer protection laws.
The Court posed tough questions to both parties. Ciric adamantly stated that bitcoin was “absolutely not” a financial product, to which the Court asked several times, “How is that not value?” The Court also questioned the state’s standing argument, asking Conley “How is him not shutting down this businesses a direct response to a challenge to the regulation itself?”
As to Chino’s request for limited discovery, Ciric explained that an expert’s testimony on the economic nature of bitcoin (whether it is a financial product) is necessary because it is a critical threshold issue. Conley, however, argued that Chino’s challenge was a question of law for which the Court could fully and fairly review.
After listening to the parties’ arguments, the Court stated that it will review all of the submitted materials and issue a decision at the next appearance in the case, which is scheduled for January 11, 2018, at 2:15 p.m. for a decision.


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Growth slowed for independent retailers in the third quarter of 2015 – even though they recorded their fifth straight quarter of positive trading, according to the latest survey from bira (British Independent Retailers Association).
More shops reported increased turnover than in any period since bira’s survey began – but the average increases they reported were the lowest across the same period. As a result, reported sales growth fell back to its lowest level this year, to 1.33%, from 2.35% in the mid-year period. Scotland and Wales led the way on growth, followed closely by the Midlands and East Anglia.
Figures from bira’s members – which include retailers in sectors as diverse as clothing, gifts, stationery, books and toys – show that the garden, machinery and tools sector lost a nine-quarter run of good results and handed its crown over to hardware and DIY, which continued its two-year run of growth – albeit with a figure of just 0.24%.
Pet products slipped 0.8%, but cookshop indies managed a 1.2% rise. Department stores stayed in growth, joined by clothing and footwear as well as giftware. But the furniture, floorcoverings and beds sector once again headed the success stakes, logging its fifth consecutive quarter of rising sales.
Bira also asked members what effect they thought the Living Wage would have on job numbers in their business by the time it reaches £9 per hour in 2020. More than half of respondents predicted that the result would be to reduce the numbers of jobs that they sustain, or the hours that they offer.
“Implementation of the Living Wage will have a major and negative impact on job numbers in small businesses like ours,” said one cookshop and housewares retailer in East Anglia. A cookshop and housewares retailer in the south-west added: “It’s quite possible that the wage increases will force closure after 33 years of business. Wages are our largest overhead and turnover has been declining steadily for many years, I do not foresee growth to fund the increases, and there are no further cuts that we can make.” A Midlands cookshop and housewares retailer noted: ”I shall probably pack up the business once the minimum wage goes up.”
A cookshop and housewares retailer in south-east/London pointed out: “We already pay above the rate, so by our normal salary increases we will still be ahead in 2020. Probably the government will fail to mention this as it would demean their intentions of saying what good chaps we are for getting more money for everybody.“
Bira stated: ‘Four years’ worth of compound 6% increases will build pressure consistently on costs, so sales growth will need to far exceed these levels if retailers are to avoid cutting staff numbers or hours. Closer to hand, if the Chancellor does not renew the current temporary discounts, lower rates and exemptions on business rates in the Autumn Statement on November 25, small shops will suffer huge increases in costs as early as April next year.’
The experience of a cookshop and housewares retailer in south-east/London supported this: “Sales are static or less than before, but costs imposed by Government are the most inflationary we face.” And a cookshop and housewares retailer in the Midlands commented: “It’s a big struggle to increase turnover in the current deflationary and economic circumstances.”
Bira members were also asked whether they thought local authorities should be given the power to extend Sunday opening hours. Bira said ‘the balance of opinion on devolving powers to extend Sunday trading to local authorities was clear – seven out of ten oppose the proposal’.


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'A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: Stella McCartney to design Team GB kit for London 2012 Olympics
Stella McCartney has been appointed creative director for Great Britain's London 2012 Olympic team.
The British fashion designer will oversee the design of both athlete kit and fan wear for the Adidas Team GB range for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
It is the first time in the history of the Games a designer has been taken on board to design the teams' kit, with Adidas having now provided kit for Team GB since 1984.
But McCartney's sportswear range for Adidas has enjoyed fantastic success, and this new role looks to be an extension of that.
Stella McCartney with Olympic medallists Victoria Pendleton and Allyson Felix. The designer has been named Team GB's creative director for the 2012 Olympics
She said: 'As a British fashion designer it is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be creative director of Team GB as the host nation of the London 2012 Olympic Games.'
Olympic and world champion Victoria Pendleton was also enthusiastic, saying: 'I'm a massive fan of Stella McCartney and with London hosting the Olympic Games it is really important as the host nation to set the standards.
'To have a British designer inputting into the British kit is going to be very special.'
Andy Hunt, chief executive officer of the British Olympic Association, said: 'We know that how an athlete looks and feels in their kit gives them a psychological advantage when competing, and we are delighted that Adidas has brought Stella on board.
'This apparel line provides an exciting opportunity for fans to connect with Team GB and show their pride and support for the athletes who will represent our nation during the 2012 Games,' he added.
McCartney, 38, is the youngest daughter of former Beatle Sir Paul, and is currently pregnant with her fourth child.
Prior to starting her own label she worked under Tom Ford at Gucci, and was creative director for French fashion label Chloe.
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- OGame Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary
- The iconic OGame is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a month of events, competitions, special servers and discounts. With over 70 millon players in 32 languages, Gameforge's classic browser-based game is more alive than ever.
“OGame made us what we are today. Our community played...
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- 2012 is being a great year for Innogames
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By: Nick Whisler and Josh Stevens The past several weeks have brought a flurry of U.S. and international privacy developments. To help you stay on top of the everchanging landscape, here is a high-level summary of recent news and upcoming events.
- On September 17, a group of Republican senators announced a proposed federal privacy law called the SAFE DATA Act. Among other things, the law would increase transparency requirements for businesses, give consumers more control over their data, place restrictions on the collection and use of sensitive data, require businesses to conduct privacy impact assessments on certain data processing activities, and impose data security requirements. The law preempts state privacy and data security laws that purport to regulate entities covered by the federal law. It does not preempt state data breach notification laws. The law would also expand the FTC’s jurisdictional and enforcement authorities and require it to adopt privacy regulations and establish a data broker registry.
- On September 23, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing titled “Revisiting the Need for Federal Data Privacy Legislation.” The hearing included testimony from former FTC commissioners and current California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra. In addition to providing high-level recommendations on the ideal framework for federal privacy laws, the witnesses addressed subtopics such as government enforcement powers, preemption of state laws, the impact of privacy laws on racial equality, and whether privacy laws should include a private right of action.
- The California Attorney General’s enforcement powers under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) began July 1. Shortly thereafter, the state released the text of the approved CCPA Regulations. AG Becerra’s Congressional testimony confirmed widely held beliefs that the AG’s initial enforcement efforts would focus on companies with non-compliant privacy policies or missing “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” links and investigations stemming from consumer complaints. He also noted that the office has been reviewing service provider contracts to ensure they include the CCPA-required use and sharing limitations.
- Earlier this month, the legislature extended the partial CCPA exemptions for businesses that process personal information related to: (1) employees, contractors, and job applicants; and (2) business contacts. These partial exemptions now sunset on January 1, 2022.
- This month the California Legislature also passed AB 713, which expands the scope of the CCPA’s HIPAA exemption to cover certain types of deidentified health and medical information. The bill provides additional CCPA exemptions for business associates that act on behalf of covered entities and information collected and used solely for specified research purposes. The bill does, however, impose disclosure and contract requirements on businesses that share deidentified information.
- In November, California residents will vote on the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). The initiative, which is widely expected to pass, would give consumers the right to correct inaccurate personal information held by businesses, impose additional restrictions on the use of sensitive personal information, create a new government agency (the California Privacy Protection Agency) to enforce privacy laws, require certain businesses to conduct annual security audits and risk assessments, and require the state to adopt regulations to restrict automated decision-making processes.
- The Washington Privacy Act has been reintroduced after having narrowly failed to pass in the last legislative session due to late disagreements over the private right of action. Modeled on GDPR, the Washington Privacy Act would apply to businesses that control personal information of over 100,000 Washingtonians in a calendar year, or derive at least 25% of revenue from the sale of personal information and process personal information of over 25,000 Washingtonians in a calendar year. Personal data regulated under other frameworks like HIPAA, GLBA, and FCRA would be exempt, as would employee records. The Act would preempt local regulations except for those in effect as of July 1, 2020. Importantly, the Act does not include a private right of action, instead giving the AG sole enforcement authority with penalties of up to $7,500 per violation if not cured within 30 days of notice. The Act would also come into effect 120 days after enactment, so businesses will need to be prepared to respond quickly if the Act passes this term.
- The European Court of Justice, in its Schrems II decision, invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework for EU-U.S. data transfers. At a high level, the Court found that the framework did not provide European residents with privacy rights like those in Europe due to U.S. national security laws and a lack of judicial review of privacy rights violations for European residents. Shortly thereafter, the Swiss data protection authority similarly invalidated Privacy Shield as applied to Swiss-U.S. data transfers. Data exporters & importers must now turn to alternative mechanisms such as standard contractual clauses to provide adequate safeguards for EU-U.S. data transfers under GDPR; however, these mechanisms are also subject to quickly growing scrutiny.
- Following the Schrems II decision, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner ordered Facebook to cease transferring personal data to the U.S. Although currently on appeal, this decision demonstrates growing concern by EU data protection authorities that transfers of personal data to the U.S. may be in violation of GDPR requirements even if alternative adequate safeguards are utilized.
- Brazil’s new General Data Protection Law (LGPD) went into effect on September 18, 2020, although enforcement will not begin until August 1, 2021. LGPD, like GDPR, has extraterritorial scope and applies generally to businesses with only minor exceptions. LGPD gives consumers many familiar rights such as access, deletion, data portability, correction, and consent. Consumers also have the right to be informed not only about how their information will be used and shared, but also the entities with whom their information is shared, and the consequences of refusal to consent to sharing. Companies doing business in Brazil or with Brazilians should carefully review the LGPD.


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Anyone want to take the reins at AMD? More than six months after showing Dirk Meyer the door, AMD has yet to find a new CEO. The firm has been trying, of course, but Bloomberg reports that at least four high-profile executives have turned down offers to take the job.
According to "people familiar with the search," Apple COO Tim Cook, Oracle Co-President Mark Hurd, EMC COO Pat Gelsinger (formerly of Intel fame), and Carlyle Group Managing Director Greg Summe have all turned down offers from AMD. This sort of thing may be typical, though. The Bloomberg story quotes a former analyst and consultant who says recruiters typically take about six months to fill this kind of position.
As Scott speculated when Meyer was ousted, it appears AMD is looking for a CEO who can make the company competitive in the world of tablets and mobile phones. Low-power chips haven't exactly been AMD's strength, and in that market it has to contend with more than just Intel. Tough gig.
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Aussie Researchers Build GiFi, A Tiny Chip With Big Wireless Capabilities
The GiFi chip can transmit data wirelessly at 5 Gbps over a distance of nearly 11 yards, which could have a major impact on consumer electronics.
Researchers in Australia have developed a tiny chip that can transmit data wirelessly at 5 Gbps over a distance of nearly 11 yards, a capability that could have a major impact on the way consumer electronics, such as digital TVs, mobile phones, and DVD players, communicate with each other, a newspaper reported Friday.
The "GiFi" chip, which measures 0.2 of an inch on each side, was developed at Melbourne University-based labs of the National Information and Communications Technology research center, The Age reported. The high transmission rate of the chip would make it possible, for example, to transfer a high-definition movie from a video kiosk to a mobile device in a few seconds.
"I believe in the longer term every consumer device will have this technology," project leader Stan Skafidas told the newspaper. Skafidas and his team have been developing the chip for almost a decade.
Skafidas and his team claim to be the first to demonstrate a working transceiver-on-a-chip that uses CMOS, or complementary metal oxide semiconductor. CMOS is a particular style of digital circuitry design used in microprocessors.
The chip uses an antenna 0.04 of an inch wide, less than two watts of power, and would cost about $9.20 U.S. The device transmits over the 60-GHz spectrum, which the researchers said is nearly unused. Wi-Fi technology, in contrast, shares its spectrum with other devices such as cordless phones, which can cause disruptions. In addition, GiFi is faster than the average Wi-Fi device. However, Wi-Fi can transmit over longer distances.
The chip is about a year away from being ready for market, Skafidas told the newspaper. As to its uses, the researcher said the processor could be used to transfer video and other data-intensive content between storage and display devices in the home. It also could be used to turn a mobile device into a "shopping cart" for digital movies and other content that could be bought elsewhere and played in the home.
The 27-member team developing the new chip worked with companies such as IBM in the research.
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2017 State of IT ReportIn today's technology-driven world, "innovation" has become a basic expectation. IT leaders are tasked with making technical magic, improving customer experience, and boosting the bottom line -- yet often without any increase to the IT budget. How are organizations striking the balance between new initiatives and cost control? Download our report to learn about the biggest challenges and how savvy IT executives are overcoming them.


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Verizon is partnering with under-the-radar mixed reality hardware company ThirdEye Gen. The partnership will make ThirdEye Gen Verizon's first official smart glasses partner for 5G mobile edge computing.
ThirdEye is having a moment after being granted two technology patents for its OLED displays and low-latency data streaming architecture.
"It's a very exciting time for the company right now, announcing our first major partnership with a leading wireless provider and being granted two patents we've been working hard on for the past five years," said Nick Cherukuri, Founder of ThirdEye Gen. "We are honored to be the first MR glasses company to partner with Verizon to develop advanced 5G use cases that will bring about a new era of hands-free human interaction."
The ongoing 5G rollout promises to unlock key functionality for mixed reality. Companies like Nreal, another MR hardware company, have been rolling out glasses that can pair with a 5G phone. Massively increased speeds will enable functions like mobile streaming of 3D video, especially live video. It won't be long before mixed reality is used to view live athletic events on the go, for instance.
On the enterprise side, the increased speeds of 5G are critical for several applications, including connecting field service techs with experts back at headquarters. One of the primary early use cases for MR is enabling experts to guide service techs in the field by projecting instructions and animations onto the real world via MR glasses. That two-way 3D feed requires transferring a lot of data, which is why 5G could be a game changer. Read more


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When Jaguar Land Rover followed in the tracks of Volvo last week with its shift to an electric-powered future, the car maker didn’t just talk about hybrids and batteries.
Its chief executive also showed that his company, like governments and oil firms, is finally waking up to the global shockwaves electric cars will bring about. They are far more profound than whether drivers top up via a pump or a plug.
Ralf Speth cited the impact battery-powered cars will have on oil demand, and the “considerable stress” that could have for major oil-producing countries’ budgets.
Visit The Guardian to read the full article.


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Jay Feldman, CEO of Feldman Automotive, appeared recently on CBT Automotive network and discussed his partnership with actor and auto enthusiast Mark Wahlberg, and how the partnership has opened new doors for him. Feldman also discussed how the recent dealership he acquired alongside Wahlberg has navigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Feldman met Wahlberg five years ago through a mutual friend and decided to go into business together. Now, the pair jointly owns four dealerships together including an airstream and RV store.
Feldman Automotive currently has 13 dealerships, four of which are co-owned with Walhberg. The group offers several brands including Chevrolet, Hyundai, and Kia throughout the states of Michigan and Ohio.
Watch the full video here.


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Hideo Kojima, the creator of Solid Snake, says that his team is working on a new social service that will be integration into Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and will introduce new experiences for the fan base.
The developer is quoted by Siliconera as telling Famitsu that, “Metal Gear Solid 5 will indeed be challenging the rest of the world. In order to win this fight, we’ll be needing all of your support. Please look forward to the world of a next-generation social service that will utilize the cloud.”
Kojima is not yet offering any details about how a social network will expand the story of Snake.
The Phantom Pain is one of the game’s that captured the attention of the public art E3 2013 despite the fact that just a trailer was offered.
The new Metal Gear Solid will be out on current gen consoles, the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.


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Macy’s Inc. has announced two new executive appointments.
Peter Sachse, who has served over the past year as chief innovation and business development officer, will assume a new role as chief growth officer, reporting to Macy’s, Inc. president Jeff Gennette, effective immediately. In this new position, Sachse will oversee all Macy’s merchandising, as well as Macy’s Backstage, Bluemercury and international expansion.
Meanwhile, Justin S. MacFarlane has joined Macy’s effective today in the new position of chief strategy, analytics and innovation officer, reporting to Gennette. He will be a member of the company’s executive committee and will be responsible for Macy’s strategic development, consumer and customer research, data analysis, innovation and the development of future new business opportunities.
Among Sachse’s direct reports will be Tim Baxter, Macy’s chief merchandising officer, a member of the company’s executive committee who will continue to lead all omnichannel merchandising efforts and vendor relationships, as well as product and pricing strategies, with additional opportunity ahead as the company amplifies its product strategies across new customer touchpoints domestically and internationally. Also reporting to Sachse will be Marla Malcolm Beck, chief executive officer, and Barry Beck, chief operating officer, of Bluemercury, as well as Vanessa Lefebvre, senior vice president for Macy’s Backstage, and Dustin Jones, newly appointed managing director of Macy’s China Limited.
“These two new positions will enable us to move farther and faster in stimulating profitable sales growth in our company,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “Each role is critical to our ability to position the company’s brands for success in a consumer marketplace that continues to evolve in profound new directions for omnichannel retailing.”


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If nothing else, the opening decade of the 21st century will go down in the annals of time as the period the world went to war over GMOs. When it comes to genetically modified organisms, passions run deep and the path to reconciling polar opinions - if indeed possible - is likely to be long and arduous.
As French anti-GMO campaigner Jose Bove continues his globetrotting in the quest to urge populations to reject GM crops, the US government is taking Europe to a WTO dispute panel, convinced that the 15 member states are acting against the rules by upholding a ban on GM crops and foodstuffs.
Consumers' associations are pitted against the biotech industry, global governments against each other, and even at a regional level, local councils are nominating themselves as non-GM zones.
But rumours that the Commission could be asking member states to vote on introducing new genetically modified crops and food products by the end of the year has set the cat among the pigeons.
"The European Commission is trying to get the GM sweet corn, known as Bt11, approved quickly before new legislation comes into force in November which would subject the modified vegetable, made by Swiss-based Syngenta, to more rigorous new tests," said UK environmental group Friends of the Earth this week, commenting on a recent document compiled by the Commission.
The document, essentially an information note, states that "the scientific risk assessment has been completed for two applications, a GM sweet maize from Syngenta (Bt11) and a GM field corn from Monsanto (GA21)... It is expected that the validation process will be completed in October for Bt11 and at a later stage for GA21."
Friends of the Earth contends that the Commission is trying to push Bt11 through a vote under the previous, 'weaker' Novel Food Regulations before tough new rules on the labelling of food and animal feed containing GMOs arrive in April 2004.
Under the new European Commission regulation on GM food and feed, all ingredients that contain or consist of genetically modified organisms, or contain ingredients produced from GMOs, will need to be labelled as such.
A threshold of 0.9 per cent will apply for the accidental presence of GM material, below which labelling of food or feed is not required. There will also be a 0.5 per cent threshold for the presence of GM material that has not been approved for use in Europe, provided it has a favourable safety assessment from the European Union scientific committees. This latter threshold will apply for three years.
"The Commission's behaviour is disgraceful," said Friends of the Earth Europe's GM campaigner Adrian Bebb. "It is caving in to US pressure and trying to ram through GM foods using out-dated laws rather than protecting the interests of the public. If the Commission gets its way, there is a big chance that these foods would get to the market unlabelled," he added.
New rules on GMOs principally came to life because of two reasons. Firstly, because the European consumer demanded it, and secondly, since 1998 Europe has upheld an unofficial ban refusing to endorse any new GM crop authorisations - no new GMOs pending approval could be imported or grown in the EU. Certain Member States insisted that the ban had to remain until the EU agreed tough rules on planting GM crops and ensured the traceability and labelling of all GM food and feed.
As of April 2004, this will be the case.
When the rules were passed earlier this year, observers widely believed that the move would clear the way for an end to the five year GM moratorium. The Commission document cited this week by Friends of the Earth shows this is indeed the case.
But before deeper concerns in the anti-GMO camp set in, let's not forget one key fact: consumers will vote at the checkout. As long as the shopper steers away from GM foodstuffs, large scale production of biotech crops in Europe is likely to be a long way away.


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Shares of Alibaba (BABA) didn’t end 2016 on a strong note, falling some 12% over the past three months, driven by Alibaba being added back on America's 'Notorious' List. I’ve offered my own opinions about that distinction, which I think is bogus. But that’s for another time.
Founder and executive chairman Jack Ma, who on Monday met with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower, is intent on making BABA stock — down 14% from its 52-week high — great again. The shares closed Monday at $94.72, up 0.88%. Ma on Monday met with Trump to discuss the company's commitment to create 1 million new jobs in the United States over the next five years.
Trump had been vocal about his disdain for the Transpacific Partnership, campaigning with promises to bring back jobs to the U.S., which he felt was losing to China from the standpoint of trade. "I think the door is opened for discussing the relationship on trade issues. I'm thinking that the President-elect is very smart," said Ma. "He's very open-minded listening. So I tell him my ideas about how he can improve the trade, especially supporting small business."
But Ma, as nice of a guy as he appears to be, didn’t become China’s wealthiest man just by being a good Samaritan. By his willingness to help Trump achieve a campaign promise, Ma is killing two birds with one stone.
First, as I noted, Alibaba in December was placed back on America's 'Notorious' List after being removed from it since 2012. The Chinese e-commerce platform has been the target of numerous consumer protection agencies for what is believed to be fake knockoffs that are sold on its platform. Vowing to fix its reputation, Alibaba has recently taken two vendors believed to have sold fake Swarovski watches on its online shopping platform Taobao to court.
While the lawsuit is certainly a huge step in Alibaba’s efforts to police its platform, having Trump as an ally with the goal of creating 1 million new U.S. jobs can remove or soften the pressure Alibaba faces from U.S. consumer-protection regulators.
Secondly, growing outside of its Chinese borders was already a top 2017 objective for Ma and Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang.
Often compared to Amazon (AMZN), Alibaba already laid out plans last year to expand not only its e-commerce platform in the U.S. in 2017, but also its Alicloud and Alipay platforms. In other words, while Ma — by promising to create 1 million U.S. jobs — gave Trump a public victory, the real winner stands to be Alibaba, which may get U.S. regulators off its back, while getting the support it needs from Trump to meet its own growth objectives in the U.S.
As for BABA stock, expect the shares to reach $120 in 2017 on the strength of positive Chinese-U.S. relations and timely tweets from Trump, praising Ma’s “genius.”
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.


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It looks like Nintendo Switch players will be getting two more games soon as people spotted those games getting rated for the Nintendo Switch in Korea.
While the developers and Nintendo have not confirmed anything yet, it was reported that XCOM 2 and Catherine Full Body will both be ready for the Nintendo Switch soon as that is usually what happens when the ratings start popping up.
Catherine: Full Body adds new content to the Catherine game that was released in 2011 with new live interest and new game content. As for the XCOM 2 Collection, it will come with XCOM 2 and all the previously released content. Both these games got pretty decent reviews when they were first released.
Nintendo Switch fans are also looking forward to getting their hands on Animal Crossing: New Horizons which will be coming in March this year.


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According to The U.S. Photo Industry 2010: Review and Forecast Report, the digital camera market is estimated to be worth $5.2 billion in the U.S., with 81% of the population owning digital cameras. The country is estimated to have generated 13.9 billion digital prints in 2010. As more 8-by-10 inch photos are now being printed at home, the growth in digital photo printing revenues is expected to be driven by photo cards. The latest holiday season saw a surge of photo cards and helped to boost the results of online photo services players.
Shutterfly’s (NASDAQ:SFLY) Q4 revenues of $166.2 million grew 27% over the year and exceeded the market’s expectations of $154.5 million. EPS of $1.09 was also significantly ahead of the market’s expected $0.95. The company ended the year with revenues growing 25% over the year to $308 million and 4 million active consumers.
During the quarter, revenues from personalized products & services grew 33% over the year to $123.8 million. Revenues from prints grew 10% over the year to $40.1 million and commercial prints revenues came in at $2.3 million.
Among other operating statistics, total transacting customers grew 23% over the year to 2.3 million. Total orders grew 21% over the year to 3.7 million and the average order value grew 5% over the year to $44.41.
For the current quarter, the company projects revenues of $52 million–$53 million compared with losses of $0.26–$0.30 per share. The Street was expecting revenues of $52.4 million in the quarter with a loss of $0.16 per share. For the year, they expect to report revenues of $363-$373 million and EPS of $0.77–$0.81. The Street was projecting annual revenues of $343.8 million with EPS of $0.69.
Shutterfly Expanding Offerings
Shutterfly continued to expand its offerings and enabled Simple Path photo books using photos from various sources, including Facebook, Picasa, and directly from the consumer’s computers. To simplify the photo card purchase process, it introduced attribute-based navigation tools. The tools help make it faster and easier for customers to find the right card.
Shutterfly Expanded Market Reach
It also tied up with other retailers to expand their market reach. Recently, through Shutterfly’s agreement with Sony, VAIO users will now have instant access to Shutterfly photo books. It has also enabled photo pick-up services by tying up with retailers including Target, Walgreens, and CVS/pharmacy. Buyers can now pick up photos from these stores. Further, Shutterfly is also offering Best Buy customers a free photo book when they purchase a qualifying digital camera or camcorder.
The stock is trading at $41.10, taking its market capitalization to $1.18 billion. It touched a 52-week high of $46.97 earlier this month. If you believe in the digital photography trend and the social Web trend, the stock will likely continue to rise over the long term. I own it, and I am holding on for the time being.
Vistaprint (NASDAQ:VPRT) the online print supplies and services retailer, also had a good run this holiday season. Q2 revenues of $234.1 million were 20% higher than the previous year. EPS of 0.89 grew 22% over the year. The market was expecting revenues of $224.4 million with EPS of $0.77.
Average daily order volume of 71,000 grew 25% over the year, and average order value fell marginally to $36.17 from $36.63 a year ago. The company added 2.2 million new customers during the quarter.
For the current quarter, Vistaprint expects EPS of $0.46–$0.49 compared with the Street’s expectations of $0.54. For the year, the company expects EPS of $2.19–$2.27 compared with the market’s expectations of $2.21.
Vistaprint’s Geographic Expansion
Its Sydney facility became operational and is now Vistaprint’s first physical location in Asia-Pacific. The new marketing and manufacturing facility in Australia is part of Vistaprint’s geographical diversification focus and will help the company to address the Asia-Pacific market by reducing shipping times in the region. Earlier, the Asia Pacific market was serviced by Vistaprint’s European manufacturing facility. The Sydney office will cater to marketing efforts in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Vistaprint also established localized websites to cater to these three markets.
Vistaprint’s Marketing Offerings
The company also expanded its marketing offerings by launching the search engine optimizer (SEO) tool and custom blogs. The new features are focused on the micro and home business segment and are desgined to be a simple way to help increase search engine rankings for these businesses. Vistaprint’s Internet marketing team has also set up specific accounts on social networking platforms to keep the growing number of Vistaprint customers up to date with the latest changes while educating them on best practices in the industry.
The stock is trading at $51.48 with a market capitalization of $2.2 billion. It touched a 52-week high of $62.77 in March of last year.


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Lodging Hospitality Management, led by Chairman Bob O’Loughlin, plans to close on its purchase of Union Station by early October, including the 539-room Marriott hotel.
The hotel will be rebranded as St. Louis Union Station Hotel. The Marriott flag will be retired Oct. 11 and the hotel will operate as a boutique under the DoubleTree by Hilton brand.
Hotel employees are calling customers, including the Business Journal, and notifying them of the change.
LHM has strong ties to DoubleTree and Hilton. Its hotels include the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, DoubleTree St. Louis at Westport, DoubleTree Hotel & Conference Center in Chesterfield, Hilton Garden Inn Chesterfield and four others with the brand.
LHM’s purchase and revitalization of Union Station would cost an estimated $50 million, encompassing not only the hotel, but also the train shed and parking lot, according to a St. Louis Development Corp. (SLDC) resolution.
In June, SLDC approved $5 million in New Markets Tax Credits to go toward LHM’s planned redevelopment.
Union Station has been losing more than $1 million per year due to a large amount of vacant retail space, where sales have been falling since 2008, according to SLDC’s resolution.
The 35-acre complex was put up for sale last year. The broker on the property is CBRE Group.
LHM recently purchased Westport Plaza for $33 million from Boston-based Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. LHM, which has its corporate headquarters at Westport, acquired the office, retail and conference components at the mixed-use development. It already owned the center’s two hotels, the Sheraton Westport Hotel Plaza and Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet. The deal closed June 28.
Lodging Hospitality Management Inc., which was 91st on the St. Louis Business Journal’s list of the Top 150 Privately Held companies ranked by 2011 revenue, reported revenue of $175 million last year, up 40 percent from 2010.


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Moscow-based SimpleFinance has bagged $15m in equity funding from SBI Investments.
This deal marks SBI’s largest minority investment into a Russian company, and is its second deployment of capital to SimpleFinance. Last year, the firm made an undisclosed investment into SimpleFinance to support its growth and the launch of new services.
Including debt financing, SBI has now deployed around $50m the company in total.
Founded in 2015, SimpleFinance is a digital lending platform for small and medium-sized businesses in Russia. Through the platform SMBs can access factoring, collateral loans, commercial mortgages, unsecured loans and tender loans.
Between 2016 and 2018, the company’s expected CAGR is estimated at 500 per cent.
Through this equity injection, the company will be able to further the enhancement of its platform and continue the growth of its lending portfolio.
The company is currently in the process of developing additional services for crowdfunding platform SimplyFi and for TenderHub, a financing platform for tender participation.
SimpleFinance CEO Alexey Basenko said, “We have already put to work our unique lending platform backed by proprietary technology. By creating products tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia, we have been able to rapidly expand our lending portfolio, which more than doubled in 2017 and is forecast to double again in 2018 thanks to SBI support”.
Following this investment, the company is looking to appoint its first independent non-executive directors to its board.
Last year, the company picked up $30m in Eurobond issuance, which is on a three-year tenor and annual coupon rate of 10.5 per cent.
Earlier in the year, SBI made an undisclosed investment into InsurTech platform FinanceApp. The platform, wfox, is an insurance policy management solution to help consumers find the right cover.
Copyright © 2018 FinTech Global


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Coca-Cola introduced PlantBottle™ packaging – the first-ever fully recyclable PET plastic bottle made partially from plants – in 2009 and has since distributed more than 15 billion of the breakthrough bottles in 25 countries. Approximately 8% of the company’s PET plastic bottles last year contained PlantBottle technology.
“Thomas Edison said the power of an idea is in its use,” says Scott Vitters, who manages the PlantBottle platform at
A new exhibit at the World of
But the PlantBottle journey is just beginning, Vitters insists.
“This is not a pilot test, nor are we limiting this technology to a niche brand,” he says. “We have committed publicly to convert all of our PET plastic bottles to PlantBottle packaging by 2020.”
PlantBottle packaging offers the same functionality and recyclability as traditional PET plastic, but with a lighter carbon footprint and reduced dependence on fossil fuels. The packaging uses natural sugars found in plants to make ingredients identical to fossil-based ingredients traditionally used in polyester fibers and resin for bottles.
Working together with environmental organizations and academic researchers,
‘Bigger Than Coca-Cola’Coca-Cola believes PlantBottle will serve as a catalyst for redirecting the entire polyester fiber and plastic resin industry toward a renewable future. The company is actively working with partners around the world to build a global supply chain for PlantBottle material, including teaming up with JBF Industries Ltd. to build a world-scale production facility in Brazil.
“A challenge we wrestled with early on is how to realize the full potential of PlantBottle if we held the technology just to ourselves,” Vitters explains. “We had to redefine what winning in the sustainability space meant to us. We still wanted to lead, but instead of keeping people out, we made the decision to purposely bring others into the space in order to accelerate supplier investment, drive down cost and enhance our overall environmental benefit.”
The Complete PackageLast summer, Vitters was eating lunch at a café outside Washington, D.C. when his ears began to burn based on a conversation overheard at the adjacent table.
The quick exchange demonstrated, in a nutshell, how the partnership between
“The conversation was sparked by a Heinz ketchup bottle promoting Coke's PlantBottle technology, thereby reinforcing our sustainable packaging leadership – while plugging two of our customers and informing and delighting a group of consumers,” said Vitters.
Millions of consumers have scanned QR codes printed on the back of Heinz ketchup bottles to learn more about PlantBottle technology. This program and others motivated Coke to step up its marketing and tell the PlantBottle story more effectively.
Green Within the Green
Dasani's visual identity for
PlantBottle has resonated with sustainability-conscious consumers.
“With PlantBottle, we saw an opportunity to engage with consumers and build love for the Dasani brand while making a difference with a better designed bottle,” said Geoff Henry, Dasani’s brand director for North America. “After a successful pilot, we rolled it out nationally during Earth Month in April 2011.”
The brand created a bold, eye-catching visual identity for PlantBottle – including an image of a big leaf and green closures that played up both the packaging’s connection to plants and nature, and Dasani’s clean, crisp taste.
“We used the visual of the bottle rising out of a plant to help consumers understand the PlantBottle technology, and how Dasani was giving them an opportunity to make an environmentally responsible choice without raising the price of the product or compromising quality,” Henry adds.
PlantBottle packaging resonated with Dasani drinkers, who saw the brand as a sustainable packaging leader. More people started buying Dasani – and more often. Dasani volume in the U.S. increased 12 percent in 2011, outpacing the bottled water category by more than 2.5 times, and brand health metrics also improved.
Aside from giving consumers more reasons to buy Dasani, PlantBottle also gave retailers more reasons to stock – or restock – the brand. “PlantBottle provided us with both a compelling brand story and category growth story to share,” Henry says.
Connecting with ConsumersOver the last few years, the company has learned that the PlantBottle message must be tailored from brand to brand. Since Dasani and Coca-Cola speak with different voices and to different consumer groups, for example, they cannot take the same communications approach to PlantBottle.
'With PlantBottle... we’ve made a technology that's about
‘we’ relevant to ‘me’ without focusing on price or cost savings,' says Coke's Scott Vitters.
How? By leveraging consumers’ emotional connections to plants to enhance experiences with the company’s brands.
“If being around plants has been proven to make people happier, then why wouldn’t we want to make our bottles out of plants when delivering moments of happiness?” Vitters asks. “Simply juice is about natural goodness inside… so why wouldn’t we want that goodness outside, too? And shouldn’t smartwater be offered in a smarter package?”
Building an Even Better BottleThe next generation of plant-based PET packaging – or PlantBottle 2.0 – is squarely on the drawing board. In December 2011,
“While the technology to make bio-based materials has been proven in a lab on a small scale, we believe these partners have high potential to continue to develop the technology to global commercial scale within the next few years,” says Nancy Quan, VP of global R&D at
Work is also underway to develop new technologies to source sugars from plant waste such as barks, stems and peels, and Coke is partnering with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to create guiding principles for sourcing agricultural feedstocks used in PlantBottle packaging.
“In addition to ensuring the plant material we use continues to deliver on the environmental promise of the PlantBottle platform, we see an opportunity to deliver greater social value to farmers around the world by creating jobs and boosting incomes,” Vitters adds.
More on Journey
The Face Behind
- Video: PlantBottle Packaging
- 2011/2012 Sustainability Report
From Black Cherry + Coffee to Apple + Ginger: How
Coca-ColaDeveloped a Lineup of Unexpected Flavor Pairings for New Sparkling Water Brand
- First Coke-Branded Energy Drink to Launch in the U.S. in 2020


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Wednesday, January 13, 2010
StoredIQ Trumpets Growth
Austin-based StoredIQ is trumpeting its growth and customer wins, saying Tuesday that it had "record growth" in its customers and revenues in 2009. The firm did not disclose any actual financials or customer counts. The firm said it signed on a number of Fortune 500 customers this year from the financial services, pharmaceuticals, and oil & gas industries. StoredIQ is a developer of electronic discovery and storage management software.


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The Chromecast Ultra is expected to cost $69 when it rolls out after Google's hardware event on October 4.
A couple of upgrades for the DeathAdder's tenth anniversary.
Windows 10 users are getting OneDrive placeholders with a new name: On-Demand Sync.
Boosting inventories and hatching eggs faster: it's like a wearable cheat code.
The streaming pioneer is retiring all of its current set-top boxes, but will keep the portable Roku Stick. Its top two new products will deliver 4K video and HDR decoding.
Adios, constantly connected PCs.
Are Chrome OS and Android on a collision course?
That took longer than expected.


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Affirm Holdings Inc AFRM shares are trading higher Friday after Amazon.com Inc AMZN shares surged on better-than-expected financial results.
Amazon reported second-quarter revenue of $121.23 billion, which beat the estimate of $119.09 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro. The company reported quarterly adjusted earnings of 18 cents per share, which beat the estimate of 13 cents per share.
"Despite continued inflationary pressures in fuel, energy, and transportation costs, we're making progress on the more controllable costs we referenced last quarter, particularly improving the productivity of our fulfillment network," said Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon.
Amazon said it expects third-quarter revenue to be between $125 billion and $130 billion versus the estimate of $126.42 billion.
Affirm announced a partnership with Amazon last year. The e-commerce giant uses the buy now, pay later company as a payment option on its platform. Amazon customers have the option to split the total cost of purchases into simple monthly payments using Affirm.
Affirm is set to report its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results on Aug. 25.
AFRM Price Action: Affirm has a 52-week high of $102.21 and a 52-week low of $13.64.
The stock was up 3.68% at $26.78 at press time, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Photo: courtesy of Affirm.
© 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has tweeted that from 16th September, Ola is going to restart it’s bike segment in Bangalore. This time, the fleet will consist of all electric vehicles and Ola’s own S1 models.
The tweet by Bhavish Aggarwal read:
“Restarting Ola Bike in Blr today 🙂
This time, all electric and our own S1 scooters!
₹25 for 5km, ₹50 for 10km.
Lowest cost, very comfortable and great for the environment! Will scale across India over next few months.”
Earlier, Ola had to stop its bike segment in Bangalore. The state government had imposed a ban on it. The decision was made as a result of Ola’s inability to satisfactorily address the transport department’s investigation into its bike taxis in Bengaluru. Earlier this year, the agency had seized a number of bikes. However, Ola asserted that the “experiment” with bike taxis had been stopped weeks before.
Due to Ola’s failure to comply with the licence restrictions despite earlier notices from the department to the company, the transport department of Karnataka has banned the ride-hailing services for six months in Bengaluru. For its part, Ola asserts that it stopped operating its bike taxi service weeks ago and sought the government for a regulatory framework instead. Approximately two months after launching its bike taxi service in Bengaluru in March 2016, Ola’s arch-rival Uber suspended it.


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With the list of preservative materials for cosmetics shrinking, suppliers are offering smart, synergistic antimicrobial blends, ticking boxes such as ‘mild’ and ‘green’, even for tough-to-preserve formulations
The roster of preservative materials available to cosmetic formulators is ever-shrinking due to a combination of regulatory changes and consumer pressure.
There are 59 allowed preservatives in Annex V of the European Cosmetic Regulation (1223/2009). But, as supplier Schülke noted in its presentation 'Formulation of microbial safe products in a free-from world', manufacturers must also take market demands into account.
These exclude formaldehyde donors, halogenated materials, isothiazolinones, parabens, CMR substances and allergenic compounds, as well as anything that would require a warning on the product, or be unsuitable for use on children under the age of three.
When filtered through these rigorous criteria, the list of preservatives available for use in modern cosmetics is whittled down to:...
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Fourth of Seven New PA Locations to Open in 2019
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — BEYOND / HELLO™, a premier retail chain owned by Jushi Holdings, Inc. (“Jushi” or the “Company”)(NEO: JUSH.B), a leading company focused on bringing only the best, personalized marijuana treatments and products to customers, announced BEYOND / HELLO™ received approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to begin serving patients from its second Philadelphia location.
The new dispensary, located right off of I-95 at 475 North 5th Street and close to patients and caregivers in the Northern Liberties, Old City and other parts of the city, is set to open on Monday, August 26th, 2019 at 9:00 a.m.
“Our team at BEYOND / HELLO, not only works in the Greater Delaware Valley, but also lives here,” said BEYOND / HELLO™ President Blythe Huestis. “Having the opportunity to work closely with our patients, who are not only our neighbors but have become a part of the BEYOND / HELLO family, has been extremely rewarding. With the opening of our new Philadelphia location we will make life-changing treatments more easily accessible to patients in our own backyard.”
BEYOND / HELLO™ 5th Street will carry a wide array of medical marijuana products, including dry leaf, oils and oil cartridges, concentrates, pills, capsules, tinctures, topicals and various ancillary products. A licensed pharmacist, along with seasoned, trained staff, will be on site to dispense products, answer questions and provide service to patients and caregivers. As the Commonwealth expands its medical marijuana program, BEYOND / HELLO™ will continue to make state-approved products available to patients.
“Our focus is to bring more patients safe, convenient access to transformative medicinal treatments that improve their quality of life,” said Jushi CEO and Chairman Jim Cacioppo. “With numerous retail locations open in the Greater Philadelphia region, northeastern PA, central PA and


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Little Space Heroes blasts off with new games, kritterz and costumes
Most recent update piles on some more multiplayer games, additional collectible kritterz pets and new stylish hero customization options.
Little Space Heroes plans to take its 1.5 million kid subscribers on a rollercoaster ride of fun with its new multiplayer games. Players will be asked to blast down incoming asteroids, perform parachute jumps, throw some perfect bowling strikes and even score a winning soccer goal.
For those who spend a lot of time hanging out in this virtual world, there are also new pets to play with. Ten new kritterz, from unicorns to dinosaurs, join the existing roster of adorable collectibles. New flying accessories also allow these kritterz to accompany their heroes to the skies and the galactic adventures beyond.
Little Space Heroes has also expanded its dressing-up feature with ten new fashion catalogs. MMORPG role-players will love play-acting in their waiter, usher and report costumes.
And for the ultimate trendsetting party hosts, developers have launched groovy homepad themes: Rock Star, Day Spa, Gamer Chilled or Jungle. These are just the pre-set options. Players will also be able to create their own homepads, complete with customized music for the perfect party mood.
Come March, Little Space Heroes fans can look forward to joining “massive treasure hunt” event hosted by none other than the lovable intergalactic hopper-explorer, Bubble Bunny.


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Opinion – Sun Danyong was 25 when he died after jumping from his 12th floor apartment in Shenzen, just outside Hong Kong.
He worked at Foxconn Technology’s factory making iPhones and killed himself after a prototype Apple phone went missing. He was responsible for shipping 16 iPhone samples to Apple in the US. On July 13, when one could not be accounted for, he reported its loss.
Foxconn security guards paid the man a visit at his home and carried out a thorough search. They deny that the employee was threatened or beaten, as alleged by local Chinese media, although the head of security has since been suspended and is being questioned by police.
An Apple spokesperson issued a brief statement: “We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death,” adding that the company requires its suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect.
Let’s just step back and look at that again. Putting a few cellphones in a box and phoning DHL to arrange shipment wouldn’t normally be regarded as a high stress or high risk occupation, so why did Sun Danyong die?
Well, the finger of blame can be pointed at a number of groups. While Foxconn clearly has some way to go in terms of employee relations, the blame cannot rest solely with them. The company is, after all, merely a sub-contractor.
But the unnatural hype surrounding any Apple product, and the iPhone in particular, means that secrecy is given top priority to prevent the plethora of Apple fan and rumor sites from learning anything about a small box of plastic and electronics that has a shelf life of a mere three months before it is replaced by a shinier new model.
Apple famously only speaks to a chosen few reporters, who can be trusted to react with the required amount of shock and awe at the latest wonderment bearing the bitten fruit logo. Journalists attempting to publish leaked information are met with the full force of Apple’s legal department.
Apple remains tight-lipped about everything and insists that its suppliers do the same. This, of course, makes the Cult of Mac even more desperate to find out what Apple wants them to spend their money on next. Speculation and hype often reaches fever pitch.
This means there is unnatural pressure on everyone involved in developing and producing new products for Apple to do everything possible to keep everything under wraps until Steve Jobs bounds onto the stage waving the new product at an adoring crowd.
So, I put this simple question to Apple, Foxconn, every Apple fansite or publication and, indeed, every avid consumer of Apple products on the planet:
Do you honestly believe a cellphone is worth a single human life?


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Find our most recent stories tagged by their locations. Click here for more story locations.
Posted: 28 Mar 2014 | 6:00 am
Not only are hotel rooms and transport pushing prices higher in the Maldives but new government taxes are raising the cost of being a tourist.
Effective from the begging of this year was a USD8 a night bed tax.
In November of this year the bed tax will be rolled off but a 12% GST implemented.
Current GST (General Sales Tax) is set at 8%.
Thailand remains one of the world's best values in terms of hotel prices and this is in no danger of changing anytime soon.
A column featuring environmental issues and conservation around the island. Click here for more Green Reports check out the latest story from the leading experts:
As the drive for micro homes or mini dwellings continues often using recycled restructure a new venture in Vancouver Canada is providing an after-market storage solution.
One Phuket sustainable initiative that often is overlooked in the island's Big Tree Club.
Phuket event on tapping into China luxury trade
PHUKET GAZETTEHotel Wars Raging On Phuket
PROPERTY REPORT SOUTH EAST ASIADeath Of The Property Hipster


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The latest discrete graphics market share report for the fourth quarter of 2019 has been published by Jon Peddie Research, showing a huge surge in AMD Radeon GPU market share versus NVIDIA’s GeForce GPUs.
AMD Radeon GPUs Gained Big in Q4 2019 Versus NVIDIA GeForce GPUs – JPR AIB / Discrete GPU Market Share Report
It looks like AMD Radeon managed to ship more AIB units in the previous quarter (Q4 2019) versus NVIDIA’s GeForce GPUs. We already saw a glimpse of this a few days ago in the overall GPU market report which revealed that AMD GPU shipments surged by 22.6% in Q4 2019 while NVIDIA GeForce was down 1.9% in the same quarter.
According to the report, over $3.9 Billion dollars of AIBs shipped in Q4 2019 with AMD leading the shipments. Compared to the previous quarter (Q3 2019), AIB shipments increased by 12.2% and compared to the previous year (Q4 2018), AIB shipments increased by 33.4%. The report states that the AIB market hit $16.1 billion last year and is expected to hit $16.3 billion by 2023. A total of 1303 million AIBs have been shipped since 1981. The fourth quarter is stated to be normally flat but it saw an unusual surge this year which is above the ten-year average of -2.3%.
Coming to the discrete GPU market share, AMD Radeon GPUs rose their share from 27.08% in Q3 to 31.08% in Q4 2019. NVIDIA GeForce GPUs fell from 72.92% to 68.92%. NVIDIA still has a higher market share versus AMD and compared to its Q2 2019 position (67.92%), it still holds a very large chunk of market share.
On a year-to-year basis, we found that total AIB shipments during the quarter rose 6.2%, which is greater than desktop PCs, which fell -15.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
Overall, AIB shipments had been declining slightly, but not as much as the PC thanks to gamers upgrading their systems.
A lot of things…


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Mascioni Focusing on Quality
Carole Sloan -- Home Textiles Today, February 7, 2005
New York — Mascioni s.p.a. is out to bring back classic standards of quality to the world of home fashions.
Alberto Mascioni, president of the Italian-based company, explained that with the industry — especially in the sheet business — so focused on elements such as thread count, “There is an opportunity to focus the attention of consumers on quality, and how to maintain the quality of a home textiles product throughout its life.”
Today, he pointed out, “Colors fade, the softness disappears, and optical brighteners in laundry detergents impact color and wearability.”
In the current home textiles marketplace, he explained, “Everyone is offering the same product; it's a battle over price. We are developing new quality elements and soon will be in a position to come to market with them.”
He added, “We are already in talks with our customers — and have found interest from them.”
Another piece of the company's growth strategy lies in the hospitality business, especially with boutique hotels. “Small is better is coming back,” Mascioni said.
While focusing on the hospitality business is a departure from its long-time specialty of high-quality printing and finishing fabrics, “It's a very exciting business. It's a demanding clientele, and we're approaching the business by concept — not items. We are offering lifestyle packages of sheets, towels and table linens,” he added.
The company, Mascioni said, is also doing some manufactured product for retailers, “smaller retailers that are looking for differentiated product and higher quality. I see a parallel beginning in retailing, as in hospitality with boutiques — service and quality and product.”
Looking ahead, Mascioni said, “It could be an option for us to have some facility in China to interest the growing Chinese consumer market.”
Industry Related Content
Celebrity Branding at NY Home Fashions Market


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Yoga minimal Covid stress
The study was performed on 668 adults between April 26 and June 8 very last year. The participants were grouped as yoga practitioners, additional religious practitioners & non practitioners.
Yoga practitioners had “lower stress, depression” as well as tension during the lockdown imposed due to the Covid-19 outbreak last year as compared to non practitioners, an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi study has found.
The study, titled’ Yoga a good program for self management of stress-related troubles and wellbeing throughout Covid-19 lockdown: A cross-sectional study’, has been published in the journal’ Plos One’. It was performed by a team of experts from the National Resource Centre for Value Education in Engineering (NRCVEE) at IIT-D.
The study was carried out on 668 adults between April twenty six and June eight year which is last. The participants were grouped as yoga practitioners, other religious providers and non-practitioners. Yoga practitioners were broken down into the sub-categories of long-term, mid-term and beginners.
“Long-term practitioners reported higher personal management as well as lower illness concern in contracting Covid-19 as opposed to the mid-term or perhaps beginner groups. long-term and Mid-Term practitioners also reported perceiving lower emotional impact of Covid-19 and lower risk in contracting Covid-19 as opposed to the beginners,” IIT D said in a statement.
The study noted that long-term practitioners had “highest peace of mind, lowest depression and anxiety, without any sizable difference in the mid-term and the novice user group”.
John Hopkins Medicine1 and the Mayo Clinic2 identify yoga exercises for boosting flexibility and balance, improving physical fitness and strength, as well as creating greater focus. During the pandemic, other benefits, are encouraging far more folks to practice yoga online. Yoga helps individuals sleep better, reduces anxiety, as well as brightens mood.
Online yoga is increasingly important and well-known. Forbes reports, “a huge jump of customers accessing virtual (fitness as well as wellness) content since March of 2020. 73 % of consumers are using pre recorded video versus 17 % in 2019; eighty five % are consuming livestream classes weekly versus seven % in 2019.”3
“Online classes are important to our community’s physical and mental health. We’ve invested heavily in bilingual category and video production content so doing yoga at home mirrors the studio experience,” says Melisande Turpin, Karma Shala owner and yoga teacher.
This’s much more than men and women swapping in person fitness for online. Forbes shares, “consumers work out much more than previously, with fifty six % of respondents exercising at least 5 times per week.” The information comes from software scheduling business, Mindbody, which serves 58,000 health and wellness businesses with 35 million customers in over 130 countries around the world.
“It was an adjustment initially, offering instruction at a distance. But before long, it started to be extremely private & rewarding. Now I receive messages of thanks from people across the world for the classes we offer,” discussed Dominique Leclerc, a Karma Shala Online instructor.
ResearchAndMarkets.com reports yoga equipment sales grew 154 % in 2020 as folks stocked their house yoga area with mats and blocks. Mindbody reports that forty six % of people intend to make virtual sessions a regular part of their regular, even after studios reopen.
John Hopkins Medicine discovered yoga helps by hooking participants to a supportive community. Ms. Turpin sees a future with a blend of digital and in-person services, “We now have more tools to nurture our town. We make use of technology to tone up those bonds until we come across each other just as before at the studio.”
Yoga minimal Covid stress


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Iranian tyre maker seeks access to Azerbaijani market
Iranian BAREZ company, which manufactures tyres for tractors, automobiles and trucks, has expressed its interest in selling its products in Azerbaijan and establishing cooperation with local companies.
The company is showcasing its products at “Iran-Project 2016”, the second specialized exhibition of oil and gas, petrochemical, construction, energy, utilities and engineering and technical services of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Baku. The companys sales manager Abbas Hadizadeh said BAREZs experience spans more than 30 years. According to him, the company sold 6 million tyres last year. “All our products have an international certificate and are supplied with a three year warranty.”
“BAREZ presently exports its production to Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, Sudan and Kenya,” Hadizadeh added.


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Brianna Wallen- News Editor
Love is in the air, Cupids’ arrows are flying over campus as Valentine’s Day rolls around on Feb. 14.
Owls on campus share ways that they plan to celebrate the holiday. Political science major Dasia Ortiz, a freshman, is celebrating love day with her friends.
“I’m going out to eat with my friends,” Ortiz said. “We’re going to celebrate Galentine’s Day since we’re all single.”
Many students deviate from the traditional celebration of Valentine’s Day and decide to hang out with their friends.
Biology major Dayanna Ortiz, a senior, said that she plans on celebrating the holiday by spending quality time with her friends.
“We’re going to bake some sweet treats and watch rom-coms,” Ortiz said.
Instead of spending the holiday traditionally with significant others, friends and family are being shown love as well.
Nursing major Daneiris Tirado, a freshman, believes that the purpose of the holiday is expressing love, whether platonic or romantic.
“It’s about spreading love, spending time with your loved ones and sharing your gratitude towards them,” Tirado said.
While Valentine’s Day is uplifted as a day of affection and love, other students have a pessimistic view on the holiday. Communications major Alan Brockman, a sophomore, said that she does not participate in the holiday.
“It’s just a normal day for me,” Brockman said. “I think it’s a made-up holiday, and its only important if you’re in a relationship.”
Many students are overlooking the holiday due to its placement in the middle of the week. Nursing major Favour Amayo, a freshman, said that she has no plans to celebrate.
“I’m going to sleep through the day and then study for my biology exam that’s the next day,” Amayo said.
Despite limited enthusiasm, those that are celebrating are passionate about the special day.
“I think the holiday is about giving gifts to people that you deeply care about,” Ortiz said. “Every year, my parents give me gifts like a teddy bear and my favorite candy, Reese’s.”
For those that do have a significant other, the holiday is already dedicated to them. After spending time with her girlfriends, Ortiz said that she will be spending time with her boyfriend.
“We’re going to watch the new Bob Marley movie, ‘One love,’” Ortiz said.
While the holiday is about showing love, it is also important for everyone to show love to themselves.
“I’m going to the gym to practice self-love,” Tirado said.


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Yesterday it was announced that more stores have been affected by a nation-wide listeria fruit recall. These stores include Costco, Kroger, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s, Ralphs, and Food 4 Less. The fruits being recalled include peaches, nectarines, plums, and pluots that were packaged at Wawona Packing Co. in Cutler, CA.
The CNN article in regards to the recall says that listeria was found on two nectarines and one peach and it is unclear how the fruits were exposed.
Aside from wanting to spread the word about the possible listeria outbreak and help consumers be informed, this also provided us with today’s BuzzLine challenge.
If you were advisor to Brent Smittcamp, president of the packing company that tested positive for listeria, what would your six-word PR action plan be?
Your answers may look something like:
- Inform, Investigate, Update, Address, Improve, Repeat
- Tell the truth, Make amends, Overcome
- Clean up, brush off, move on
Give us your six-word PR crisis action plan in the comments below. Your PR expertise could earn you a $5 Starbucks gift card (and who knows – maybe even some business from Mr. Smittcamp).


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Designregio Kortrijk - Kiosk #hackyourjeans
During the entire month of November we used the Kiosk in Kortrijk to create awareness around the huge amount of denim ending up in the landfill.
Together with the sustainable 'Tjur' swing of Copain the message of saving our coming generations from this problem was clear.
In collaboration with De Kringloopwinkel Kortrijk we placed a custom-designed textile collecting container next to the Kiosk and people could 'drop their jeans' to be part of the closed loop system
Did you know that
- the textile and fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries?
- it takes a lot of chemicals to produce jeans?
- up to 20,000 liters of water are needed to produce one pair of jeans?
So the denim industry produces a lot of waste and has a huge ecological footprint. European Spinning Group (ESG) wanted to find a way to reduce this textile waste through reuse and upcycling. ESG has succeeded in spinning yarns from discarded denim, which is marketed under the name ESG Green Collection. As a staunch supporter of circular design, ESG started the #hackyourjeans community for a more sustainable textile and fashion industry.
To launch the initiative, this month in Kortrijk you can learn more about #hackyourjeans at two locations and deposit your own old or broken jeans for reuse.
At the KIOSK there is a collection container where you can deposit your jeans. New yarn is made from the collected jeans, which are then used for new products such as a new pair of jeans, towel or napkin.
You can discover these products at the K shopping centre in Kortrijk. 15 partners (mainly from West Flanders) show their products made from recycled jeans.
Pictures are copyright of Designregio Kortrijk.
Link to the original article of Designregio Kortrijk: