Author Archives: Valeriia Melnychuk

Digital Revolution that we do not talk about

Reading Time: 2 minutes

At the age of 24 Monica Lewinsky fell in love with the wrong person (who happened to be the president of America at that time) and became the first victim of online worldwide humiliation. Her life changed overnight and created a digital revolution that controls our lives nowadays. The news were delivers only by newspapers, television and radio before that, but this story was the first one to boom online and changed our lives. She calls herself :”a patient zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously”. Even though it happened in 1998, before social media were around, people still were able to comment and share information online. She became #1 “joke” around internet and people used this story to sell newspapers and banner ads online.

The Beret Project: Monica Lewinsky

She was shamed all over the world for being “that woman” and this is how cyberbullying first time ever appeared. She lost almost everything and was publicly silenced for a decade. Her friend taped their phone calls, and made the personal information they contained, a public property. There she confessed her love for the president and people made her life unbearable as they, without any compassion, used her own words against her. Since that time, any scandal was discussed online and people gathered together to ruin lives of others, that only happened to make a mistake. And when Monica was strong enough to survive this, people like Tyler Clementi finish their lives by suicide. He was only 18, when he jumped off the bridge after his private affairs with another man were filmed by his roommate and online world literally shamed him to death.

If you never experienced cyberbullying, consider yourself lucky, because around 60% of kids, teenagers and young adults experience it worldwide as of 2020 and around 6-8% of them attempt suicide. And parents usually learn about it when it is too late.

When Monica heard about Tyler’s story in 2010, she decided to do something. She became an activist to make people see cyberbullying as seriously as any other health epidemic. Not so long ago she started an anti-bullying campaigne “The Epidemic” and her campaign video helps people to see the pain caused by online harassment and how to deal with it when you are a target.

Monica Lewinsky - The Epidemic

Right now online bullying takes more lives then offline, and this statistic is horrifying. A research from 2014, shows how humiliation is a more intensely felt emotion than either happiness or anger. And online, technologically enhanced shaming is amplified, unconfined and permanently accessible.

Sources:

  1. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/10/8576596/monica-lewinsky-cyberbullying-campaign

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_8y0WLm78U

Plastic Pandemic

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While we feel like a problem with the use of plastic is worse then even, COVID-19 made us practically live on takeouts with multiple layers of plastic and drink coffee only from the plastic cups from the nearest cafe. Shopping online became an only option, so piling up cardboard and plastic packaging is a new (or not really) normality. And let’s not forget that the use of plastic masks and gloves leads to even more pollution of streets and oceans.

Face masks gloves and other discarded plastic in the Red Sea.

To compound the problem, the recycling industry was hit particularly hard with the rise of pandemic. Even before the pandemic recycling infrastructure was at risk, as there wasn’t enough demand on recycled materials. 2020 really exacerbated all of the issues with plastic, BUT also brought out so many possibilities on the matter.

Of course, such enormous problems won’t be solved by our reusable totes and recycled polyester leggings, but more and more companies are trying to find solutions for it with their new eco-friendly designs and services. As the problem grows, grows the recycled plastic approach. Fashion is often one of the first to pick up any trends in society and encourage anything that is good for ecology, as well as for economy.

“Recycled plastic is still a very important approach in fashion,” says Cyrill Gytsch, the founder of Parley for the Oceans, which in 2011 made a revolution in clothing and accesories made from ocean plastic. They were a part of numerous collaborations (for example with Adidas) that are changing the industry now. During the collaboration with Adidas, they also worked with talented Stella McCartney who created the designs for shoes and activewear. In their opinion there is no more excuses to make new plastic, as we can work with recycled materials.

Ocean plastics go high-fashion with Stella McCartney - Impact Alpha

This “plastic pandemic” creates endless possibilities and the ways to work with it. Tom Ford, for example, said the best non-toxic alternative to thin-film plastic will be awarded the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize that comes with $1 million. He also introduces his own spin on the lux recycled plastic usage. An ocean-plastic watch made entirely of recovered plastic bottles.

Tom Ford Launches Eco-Friendly Timepiece and Plastic Innovation Prize | V  Man

If you are one of those who are not sure how their actions can possibly make a difference, this is about time when your fashion choices will do it for you. We used our resources to create plastic, now it’s time to create something out of plastic we no longer need. We simply can’t afford any more waste, or COVID will only be the first taste of a life we chose to live.

Sources:

https://www.parley.tv/#fortheoceans

https://www.vogue.com/article/plastic-waste-pandemic-recycling-innovations-alternatives

Future of Shopping

Reading Time: 2 minutes

In central Chinese city Changsha, one of the largest malls in the country is located. What makes it different from the others? As you enter the mall, you are facing the 250,000 square meters challenge and it is quite a struggle to find the right shop and the right item you need. People are dealing with such problems in almost every big shopping mall all over the world, so the solution this mall introduces can change the shopping as we know it.

So their solution is a Mixed Reality navigator which combines 5G network and AR intelligent technology for the ultimate shopping experience. Which makes Changsha IFS the first shopping space of such kind and sets an example for the whole world, where crowded and chaotic shopping became a normality. We are now living in the era of digital acceleration and increased importance of sensory experience and such progress was just a matter of time and technology.

How it works? For the best shopping experience in this 9-levels megamall you need to connect to WeChat from your phone and use the camera on your device as a MR (Mixed Reality) guide.

Changsha International Finance Square - iGO (shopping navigator)

There is no need to download an app, so it makes everything easier and faster. The smartphone uses your exact location to navigate you and show your options on the move. You will be able not only to see location of shops, but discover what you may like in-store, including offers and engage with an interactive treasure hunt game with this personalized shopping experience.

You no longer have to deal with a problem of finding your friend or a partner in the mall even during the busiest hours or days. Also you not only can find someone, but something. Any interesting offer will pop up as you move, so you will not miss on anything you might enjoy. At the same time it is an amazing marketing tool that instantly promotes any products you are near to. This is also a new page for retail advertisement.

At the same time mall collects the data from the page with the central customer relationship management system on shopping behavior of customers and creates personalized recommendations. Such advancement benefits both customers, sellers and the mall itself. This business ecosystem is no doubt the future of shopping.

It all breaks the wall between fiction and reality. People are almost engaged in a treasure-hunting game and all the suddenly-emerging promotions makes shopping full of surprise. For those who hate boringly walking around malls, will make it more of a fun experience, while they fulfill their everyday tasks that now seem more exciting than ever.

Sources:

  1. http://www.bbc.com/storyworks/future/the-future-of-retail-shopping/futuristic-shopping-in-changsha
  2. https://apnews.com/press-release/pr-newswire/technology-lifestyle-shopping-malls-greater-china-shopping