Retailers are under pressure to cut down on unnecessary packaging, and Lush shows how tech can enable everyone to go plastic-free

It’s a sad fact that plastic debris in our oceans is killing marine wildlife at a staggering rate. With plastics pollution spiralling out of control, shops are under pressure to cut down on their use of unnecessary packaging. Some of the greatest culprits in generating harmful waste that often ends up in the oceans or landfill are cosmetics companies – just think about how many bottles and pots of shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser, shower gels and other grooming products the average person keeps in their bathroom and it’s easy to see how it very quickly adds up.

Plastic debris in our oceans is killing marine wildlife at a staggering rate
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Some of the greatest culprits in generating harmful waste that often ends up in the oceans or landfill are cosmetics companies
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The increased awareness of the problem among consumers means that this is a commercial opportunity for those offering environmentally friendly alternatives, however. And this is what UK handmade cosmetics company Lush has been doing for many years, making many products such as shampoo in solid form (which according to the company saves nearly 6 million plastic bottles a year) where they require neither packaging nor preservatives and are offered in what the company refers to as “naked” form (where at most buyers have the option to slip it into a small paper bag or have it wrapped in some greaseproof paper).

The increased awareness of the plastic pollution problem among consumers means that this is a commercial opportunity for those offering environmentally friendly alternatives
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Selling solid shampoos, Lush saves nearly 6 million plastic bottles a year
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Currently over 40% of Lush’s product range is completely free of packaging, but in early June the company went a step further and opened a shop in Milan, Italy which is 100% packaging free, relying on technology to keep customers informed instead. The trial is currently running exclusively on Fairphone, and customers visiting the Milan shop have access to four devices, yet Lush hopes to roll out the technology to global customers in the near future.

Over 40% of Lush's product range is completely free of packaging
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The Lush Lens app uses AI to eliminate the need for packaging
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Powered by Tensorflow from Google, the Lush Lens app uses AI and product recognition to eliminate the need for packaging. In its current beta version, the information comes up as a simple text pop-up, but there are plans to explore more possibilities around immersive technologies such as Augmented Reality to provide more information about the sourcing of ingredients, the process of making products, provenance about who actually made each batch, and suggestions on how to use it. For those familiar with the company’s rather eclectic and unusual offerings, those features would all make a lot of sense.

“With this prototype mobile app we’ve put new technologies such as AI to a good use in our mission to eliminate more packaging and further educate our customers on our unique cosmetics,” Says Adam Goswell, Technology R&D at Lush. “The company believes in the ethical use of data, so all the information Lush has is secure and used in a transparent way. We’re increasingly part of the tech community, providing open source solutions where before only monopolies existed. This is in line with a company ethos that aims to give more than it takes, act transparently, push innovation and raise industry standards.”

Lush believes in continuously challenging norms and driving best practice when it comes to business ethics
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Lush is well-known for its activism, and have – if you’ll excuse the pun – recently got into hot water for one of their more controversial campaigns which was meant to raise awareness against abusive surveillance practices carried out by certain police force branches in the UK. Having spoken to its founders on several occasions (Lush is very much a family business at its core in spite of its multimillion-pound global turnover) it is clear that politics and product are very much intertwined in their strategy.

In the past few years Jack Constantine – the son of Lush’s Founders Mark and Mo Constantine has focused on developing in-house technology under the Lush Digital umbrella, including building an in-house R&D team called Tech Warriors. When we last spoke they were enthusiastic about the possibility of using image recognition and AR functionality to allow people to find out about the products in a shop simply by pointing their smartphone camera at them.

Lush sees technology playing a role in achieving their goals
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Technology doesn’t have to be unethical. We believe tech can be built for the greater good and impact positive social change
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The company sees technology as playing a vital role in achieving their commercial-political goals, which translates not only in advocating for digital rights, embracing open-source technologies and adopting ethical sourcing of hardware, but also in their investment in new technologies such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence, image recognition, and immersive tech such as augmented reality.

“Technology doesn’t have to be unethical. We believe tech can be built for the greater good and impact positive social change,” Constantine agrees. “Just like its approach to sourcing ingredients and testing products, Lush believes in continuously challenging norms and driving best practice when it comes to business ethics. One of those key principles is the ethical use of data and technology.”

This article was originally published on Forbes

How technology can help tackle the plastics pollution crisishttps://t.co/3cqenFodS6

— Forbes Tech News (@ForbesTech) June 17, 2018

For companies looking to get into Immersive technologies such as VR/AR/MR/XR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance and support on how best to incorporate these into your brand strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Technology Paving the Way for a Naked Future appeared first on Tech Trends.

More than a quarter of Americans avoid drinking tap water for fear of contamination.

There’s a growing water and plastic pollution crisis In America, as most people fear to drink tap water, which they believe is rife with contaminants, lime scale, and micro-plastic.

There’s a growing water and plastic pollution crisis In America
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These were the findings of a recent survey of over 500 US households by TAPP Water – a Barcelona start-up that is looking to make tap water cleaner and healthier – which also found that in the past 10 years, consumption of water on plastic bottles doubled to 12.8 billion gallons in 2016. Households spent on average over $400 a year on bottled water, which also means a higher carbon footprint which also means they have a much-increased carbon footprint which comes with making and transporting those bottles.

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“We are killing our oceans and planet,” says TAPP Water Co-founder Magnus Jern. “This year alone, plastic was found in a third of fish, and those individuals who eat seafood ingest up to 11,000 tiny pieces of plastic every year. We need to work together on a solution to this growing epidemic.”

In December TAPP Water launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to bring the world’s first fully biodegradable water cartridge to market. TAPP 2 is a Bluetooth-enabled IoT smart filter, and it quickly surpassed its $30,000 target.

“Tap water, whether it’s filtered or unfiltered, is always the best alternative for the environment, concludes Jern. “There’s a monumental opportunity to educate consumers about the safety, health, cost and environmental benefits of consuming filtered, clean, tap water in their home.”

Households spent on average over $400 a year on bottled water
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Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Infographic: Water Pollution Crisis appeared first on Tech Trends.