A round-up of everything you might have missed in relevant fashion, retail and tech industry news over the past week.
TOP STORIES
- Tracking sustainability’s rise as one of fashion’s favourite words [Vogue Business]
- Prada is the latest brand to go fur-free [Dazed]
- Fashion has shockingly few female CEOs [Quartz]
- What’s stopping the fashion industry from agreeing on climate action? [BoF]
- E-Commerce giant Alibaba to integrate blockchain into intellectual property system [Yahoo]
TECHNOLOGY
- World’s first digital only blockchain clothing sells for $9,500 [Forbes]
- San Francisco becomes the first US city to ban government facial recognition [Wired]
- AI avatars could be the next generation’s favorite entertainers [TNW]
- Driverless electric truck starts deliveries on Swedish public road [FashionNetwork]
- Future smart clothes will keep you the perfect temperature at all times [Digital Trends]
SUSTAINABILITY & PURPOSE
- How charitable are fashion’s biggest companies? [Vogue Business]
- The young activists fighting to ‘rebrand’ air pollution [Dazed]
- Walmart agrees to power more than 40 stores with solar energy [Bloomberg]
- Kering sets new animal welfare guidelines [FashionUnited]
- The Body Shop launches fair trade recycled plastic scheme [i-D]
- Single-use plastics a serious climate change hazard, study warns [Guardian]
- Scientists devise ‘breakthrough’ plastic that can be recycled again and again [Sourcing Journal]
- Why Russia still loves fur [Vogue Business]
- This clothing brand’s new repair program shows that the future of fashion can be circular [Fast Company]
RETAIl & E-COMMERCE
- How department stores are using services to convince customers they’re still convenient places to shop [Digiday]
- Urban Outfitters tries to stay relevant with an $88 monthly rental service [Fast Company]
- Walmart’s ambitious plan to beat Amazon on free one-day shipping is here [Fast Company]
- Why online fashion retailers are experimenting with invite-only access [Forbes]
- Klarna announces first UK immersive pop-up [FashionUnited]
MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA
- Calvin Klein apologizes following “queerbaiting” accusations for Bella Hadid & Lil Miquela ad [Hype Bae]
- Nike runs shoppable Snapchat lens to support women’s soccer [Mobile Marketer]
- How will in-game advertising change as Google, Facebook, Snap and Apple level up? [Mobile Marketer]
PRODUCT
- So what does Rihanna’s first Fenty collection actually look like? [NY Times]
- PrettyLittleThing launches recycled collection [Drapers]
- Vivobarefoot launches plant-based shoe [FashionUnited]
BUSINESS
- Body Shop owner to buy Avon for £1.6bn [BBC]
- Topshop is closing all its US stores [Refinery29]
- Farfetch revenue soars [Drapers]
- Richemont profit misses estimates on online investment costs [BoF]
- Nike, Adidas and others call on Trump to remove footwear from tariff list [RetailDive]
CULTURE
- ‘I want to tilt the lens’ – Sinéad Burke’s fight to make fashion more diverse [Guardian]
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