Cosmetic animal testing could return to the UK
A policy which banned animal testing for cosmetic products in 1998 could be reversed to verify the safety of popular ingredients in makeup and skincare. Animal testing has been considered a controversial practice since the 1960s. While it is generally accepted in global scientific research for the purpose of developing prescription...
Current in Style
Researchers develop garments that conduct Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
The latest in wearable tech is a collection of ‘smart’ clothes designed to enhance connectivity between our devices. How? By turning us into ‘pseudo-human circuit boards.’ Forgive me for stating the obvious, but these days it isn’t often that we’re without our phones or at least some kind of...
How can you tell when the beauty industry is greenwashing?
As consumers look to invest their money in more environmentally conscious brands, has sustainability become little more than a buzzword? Are brands investing in the sustainability of their products, or are they simply greenwashing us? First, it is important to understand what greenwashing is. Jenny Duranski, owner and founder of Lena...
Sustainability trailblazer Allbirds steps into activewear
Leading the charge in regenerative innovation, the footwear and apparel company has debuted its first totally eco-friendly athletic clothing collection. As we know from the recent IPCC report, which outlines fashion’s urgent responsibility to drastically decrease its impact on the environment or risk being largely responsible for our planet’s demise,...
This AI tool identifies anxiety using sound
By listening to the pitch, tone, word choice, and pauses in your speech, it can create a ‘stress portrait’ to illustrate areas of tension within your body. Here at Thred, it goes without saying that we’re suckers for the latest in quirky tech innovations. While we certainly have a knack...
Fashion faces renewed pressure to become sustainable
Last week’s IPCC report urged clothing brands to act much faster to save the planet and Greta Thunberg’s condemnation in a Vogue interview shows the industry has nowhere left to hide. ‘Our message to every country, government, business, and part of society is simple: the next decade is decisive for...
Vogue US features its first-ever transgender cover star
Chosen to represent ‘Generation America,’ Ariel Nicholson has made history as the first transgender person to grace the revered fashion magazine’s front page. Though fashion still has a very long way to go in terms of achieving genuine inclusion and diversity, the industry does appear to have been making significant headway as of late. Namely, its exploration of a fluid future that could see brands stop operating within the boundaries...
Opinion — Lockdown didn’t hinder my eating disorder, it helped it
Recent research shows lockdown didn’t affect people’s mental health in the way we thought it would. As restrictions lift, so will the obsession with body image. Trigger Warning: this article contains mention of eating disorders. Living with an eating disorder means constantly competing. Competing with yourself, competing with the people around you, and competing with the media. If you’re addicted to exercise like me, it means running that one extra mile every...
Vollebak’s latest t-shirt design absorbs CO2
The innovative men’s apparel brand has partnered with US biomaterials company Living Ink to design a t-shirt dyed with black algae that will continue to absorb carbon dioxide as the consumer wears it. ‘Sustainable fashion’ is complex and although major brands often use environmentally conscious marketing, it doesn’t necessarily mean their products are truly helping to lower the industry’s carbon footprint. Vollebak – an innovative men’s apparel brand founded in 2016...
Could bioengineered beauty help the industry’s sustainability problem?
Can lab-grown ingredients and biotech brands solve the industry’s sustainability problem? Though we may be a long way off from 3D printing ourselves a new face every morning, there’s no denying that a new era of skincare is upon us. Namely a super-natural world of beauty in which bioengineered products are the norm. This is thanks to an ever-evolving industry that continues finding new ways of harnessing science and tech to...
