Especially in developing countries, comes a fear for the purity and cleanliness of water. 

Lishtot’s TestDrop pro serves as a device that checks the purity of water and whether or not it is safe for consumption. The device is small and able to fit on keychains, and is able to tell if water is contaminated or not, all without coming into contact with the liquid. It is easily transportable and very travel friendly, hence making it to TIME’s Genius Companies 2018.

Slow travel is bringing us back to the roots of why we travel. See how you can embrace this mindset to offset travel fatigue and fully immerse yourself in your experiences.

Seeing travel as a way to keep up with trends and become more popular online can actually stop you from experiencing the true benefits of getting out of your own bubble. The people who are leaving behind slow travel in favor of quick trips to stunning and inspiring places rack up more “likes”, so it can feel like we’re missing out if our own experiences don’t stack up against theirs.

Iconic fashion house Chanel emphasizes the luxury of train travel in its Resort 2020 collection. Rather than sending models down a traditional runway, the collection debuted against a recreated beaux arts-style train station. 

“Luxury travel, so we are told, is life in the fast lane; private jets and champagne at 40,000 feet,” Campbell wrote. But this definition of luxury is outdated, she argued, instead declaring that “luxury is taking your time, and moving  more slowly.

Video Reference :"Travel is more than the seeing of sights"

Columbia Journalism Review created something call the fake newsstand, which gives out free newspapers and magazines with fake headlines from the internet. Inside contains a insert that teach reader how to spot fake news and make people question what they were reading.

https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2019/pr/230353/the-fake-news-stand/

What started off as a way to celebrate famously generous YouTuber MrBeast crossing the 20 million subscriber mark in June, became a movement where "the internet" took action against deforestation by crowdfunding $20 million dollars in 55 days to plant 20 million trees. #TeamTrees’ 20 million trees will absorb and store 1.6 million tons of carbon, and will remove 115,00 tons of chemical air pollution.

This movement received support from popular entertainment creators, social media influencers, space king himself Elon Musk, founders of big companies and even the Discovery Channel. 

Some ways to go zero waste is using reusable products like your own lunchbox and utensils, or choosing to shop at bulk food stores, where you use glass jars or paper bags, and just take how much or how little you need. 

Another way to incorporate it into your lifestyle is trying to go zero waste when cooking. In the video, they challenge themselves to buy and cook with ingredients that will not make waste like plastic packaging, or at least have waste that is compostable. This is not an easy thing to do as in our supermarkets, everything is wrapped in plastic packaging or some sort. However, shopping at bulk food stores or bringing your own bags for fruit and groceries is helpful ways to work around it. It certainly is an effective way to reduce waste, as we usually cook and eat 3 times a day.

I’m glad you can see stores like Fairprice encouraging you to bring you own bags, or Starbucks giving discounts if you bring your own cup, but I think this movement can be more normalized in Singapore.

So how does this tackle the plastic waste problem?

Firstly, it encourage people to pick up more pieces of litter from the ground by adding an element of fun and competitiveness to the process (you get points the more litter you pick up). Secondly, the huge amount of citizen science data can be used to take on the main offenders. They have already taken on the huge power of the tobacco industry and won in court thanks to all the data they collected on cigarette litter, and they are now turning attention to other culprits many of which are causing a lot of plastic pollution.

https://www.litterati.org/

lishtot tackles the problem of unsafe and contaminated water that is present in places like Flint and Michigan. Contaminated water can be dangerous when consumed in large amounts, this is especially critical to those who are unaware that the water they are consuming contaminated water. Lishtot provides a quick and easy way to identify drinkable water from contaminated water.

"a patented device small and sleek enough to fit on a keychain, can tell if water is contaminated at the press of a button. It works without touching the liquid at all—instead it scans its electric field which, company scientists discovered, is different when contaminated by anything, from animal matter to chlorine to heavy metals. The device gives off a blue light if the water is safe to drink, and a red if not."

https://time.com/collection/genius-companies-2018/5412664/lishtot/

In our world, undeniably, there is a negative stigma that revolves around tattoos. Though many might not admit that they have negative stereotypes against people with body art, though online surveys, there is prejudice against people with tattoos such as a large percentage of employers would avoid hiring people with visible tattoo(s). Instead of viewing tattoos as a form of self expression and representation, society links negative connotations with tattoos such as crimes and 🤬.

Solution: During world tattoo day which is on 21 March, in public spaces such as Orchard and Bugis, we will give out free temporary tattoos designed by local designers. Where everyone can adorn their skin with the designs that they like to expose to society to tattoos so that we can normalise tattoos as many of these locations are crowded and the tattoos will be on display for the public to see. Also, the process of individuals choosing their temporary tattoo and applying it on themselves, they will realise that it is simply a form of self expression which is a choice to make and that it is nothing to be scared/wary of.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/5-stereotypes-people-with-tattoos

This tiny tracker can be place on your keychains and it will alert you with notifications when you leave. It has over 14 million Smart Alerts. It has features such as recording your 30-day location history, sharing your tiles in the app with your friends and family so they can help find your things too.

https://time.com/collection/best-inventions-2019/5734558/tile-smart-alerts/

As we all know, air pollution is a current big issue happening in the world. It does not only harm the environment but also our health. Air pollution is attributed to 9% of deaths globally. Sure, reducing our carbon footprint may help with this issue, but it is a slow process where everyone has to give a hand in order to successfully deal with this problem.

Daan Roosegaarde came up with The SMOG FREE PROJECT which is a long term campaign for clean air in which Daan Roosegaarde and his team of experts have created the world's first smog vacuum cleaner. The 7-meter tall SMOG FREE TOWER uses patented positive ionisation technology to produce smog free air in public spaces, allowing people to breathe and experience clean air for free. It is equipped with environment-friendly technology, cleans 30.000 m3 per hour and uses a small amount of green electricity. The SMOG FREE TOWER provides a local solution for clean air such as in parks.

Maybe now we will be able to breathe cleaner air in this air polluted world of ours.

wuhan 

https://www.studioroosegaarde.net/project/smog-free-tower

 

It claimed more than 11,300 lives and a vaccine was the solution to contain future outbreaks. Merck builds its pharmaceutical reputation around many of the currently required childhood vaccinations, acquiring a promising vaccine candidate from researchers in Canada, then took on the daunting task of testing it on 18,000 health care workers and other volunteers. 

While the vaccine remains experimental for now, the results have been encouraging. It was pressed into service this May, when cases began appearing in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Merck is committed to making the Ebola vaccine available wherever needed and do not intend to profit from the vaccine.

https://time.com/collection/genius-companies-2018/5412667/merck/

Meat produced contributes 15% of the greenhouse gases during livestock farming, which affects our climate. As we move forward, our habits start to change. From creating a more environmental-friendly space through the three ‘Rs’ and eating more plant-based food. A sudden change of diet from meat-based to plant-based food is a huge step for us and it is impossible to change everyone’s diet in under a day.

 

Creating a plant-based meat that requires less land, water and produces less greenhouse emissions are a great first step of encouraging a more climate friendly lifestyle. Growing a plant-based diet does not necessarily have to be about health and animal welfare. However, for the sake of the planet, people are increasingly motivated to ditch meat and protect our world.

https://www.dw.com/en/vegan-meat-the-future-of-planet-saving-plant-based-eating/a-51054861

 

Of course, habits die hard where one can’t live without meat but Impossible Foods can unknowingly change one’s eating habit. One would be eating healthier due the consumption of meat made from only plant-based ingredients. A substitute for animals where the meat would have a similar taste to meat from animals. 
It is certain that a solution is made to impact a few pertinent things: human health, environmental sustainability and global resources. So, it is up to us to change our ways and do what is best to protect our earth.

 

Air-Ink was founded by Graviky Labs, an MIT Media Lab spin-off focussing on building technology that can make a real world impact. It is a brand of ink and ink-based art products made by “capturing" and filtering polluted air via KAALINK, their own patented technology. One air-ink pen is approximately made up of 40-50 minutes of diesel car pollution. The ink is later brought to artists and printing companies to make carbon-negative prints with a high degree “carbon impact” on the environment.

So, why ink? The particulate matter in polluted air derives its carcinogenic properties from its ability float in air and thus being able to enter into our respiratory system. By binding the captured pollution into inks, the pollutants’ original characteristics is stripped away and is instead translated into art, saving streams and land from being victims of massive pollution. 

Its company firmly believes that “Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we’ve been ignorant of their value.” Saving the earth from air pollution and channeling creativity at the same time? Now that’s what I call killing two birds with one stone!

http://www.graviky.com/air-inktrade.html

We all know plastic as the non biodegradable material that, when turns into waste, adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, and humans. Many conscious efforts have been done in order to reduce plastic waste, such as the movement to stop using single-use plastic. 

As the fashion industry grows more aware of the current issues revolving plastic waste, a new material has been created with the aim of giving plastic a second life. ReNew was created when the fashion brand, Everlane, partnered with groups in Taiwan and Japan that collects recycled plastic water battles. The process was mainly: sorting (since only the clear plastic was used), stripping off caps, sanitising, grinding and then spinning into a fine yarn. This yarn is then stuffed and sewn into clothes.

Everlane also has made a commitment to remove virgin plastic from its supply chain completely within the next few years. They aim to replace their plastic packaging, zipper pulls and synthetic fabric in clothes. They hope that by moving in this direction, they will be able to take recycled plastic clothing mainstream in everyday fashion.

https://www.wired.com/story/plastics-in-fashion-everlane-renew/ 

As for Singapore, the stray cats and dogs are blessed enough as i usually see people feeding them. But they do not get access to food as easily as pets from home.  There are many people who feel sorry for them every time when they see them as they are homeless and willing to buy food from their own pocket from the nearby supermarkets to feed them, but not everyone is willing to do so. But can you take a minute to just imagine how awesome would it be if all this stray cats and dogs have food supplies all the time, without the worries about these animals starving and having the need to go around to look for food?

A Turkish company called Pugedon came up with a solution for this issue to feed the stray animals. They invented this machine that dispenses food and water when people recycle plastic bottles. There are 2 benefits of this vending machine. Firstly, to encourage recycling and secondly, to feed the stray animals.

The vending machine has three openings: One at the front around eye-level for depositing plastic bottles or cans, the second opening slightly below the first, for liquids that is remaining in the bottle before recycling, which people can pour into the second opening and the water will flow into a bowl located right next to the food, and the third one on the right side of the machine nearer to the ground for dog food to fall into the bowl. 

This is a great invention for people to feed the strays, as well as saving the earth at the same time.

Smart vehicles have been around for a while now, back in 2007 when Volkswagen introduced the “Park assist” feature coupled with a few intriguing ads, took off in the compact MPV market. 

Today, Tesla has paved the way for (partially) self driving cars and smart vehicles in general. It features an autopilot mode for highways and other smart features like the ability to move your car forward/backwards through the Tesla app on your phone. 

Elon musk recently revealed a new model to the line up called the Cyber Truck, turned many heads and sparked many conversations. He also “over-promised” on full autonomous driving on all streets by the end of 2019...

Meanwhile, other car manufacturing companies such as Porsche and BMW have been coming up with  new and innovative ways to join the electric/smart car gang, with Porsche releasing its Porsche Taycan in early 2019.

What does the future have installed for electric cars and smart cars of the future? 

It is introduced in the late 2012 with 10 machines arcoss the city but now it has expand to include 34 machines and plan to install as many as 3000 across cities. 

Interesting fact is that Beijing do not have a plastic recycling problem with a 90% recycling rate for PET bottles. That is due to the fact that there are countless of migrant workers that pick up the city’s trash and collect plastic bottles which will then be repurposed by large companies. 

If these machines were to be installed in other countries, it will not only encourage recycling but also be wallet friendly to everyone. People who do not have enough to take the subway will finally rejoice as it will make their lives convenient.

https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2014/beijing-recycling-program-turns-bottles-subway-rides/41131

"We want Prime to be such a good value, you'd be irresponsible not to be a member," Bezos wrote in the letter. "Prime has become an all-you-can-eat, physical-digital hybrid that members love...There's a good chance you're already one of them, but if you're not — please be responsible — join Prime."

“Our goal with Amazon Prime, is to make sure that if you are not a Prime member, you are being irresponsible."

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-says-its-irresponsible-not-to-be-part-of-prime-2016-5?IR=T 

Such would be the challenges to break gender stereotypes and fight for equal rights for the queer community. For many years, there always had been a certain standards and ‘norm’ for how a person should behave or act. 

But now, we are pushing boundaries and resisting society’s standards. Drag defies what society has defined as the norm and breaking down the mould that’s been made.

Drag queens or drag kings, you name ‘em. Drag itself has always been political and is just a way to rebel against what society has wanted their people to be. Drag allows people to create their own identity and be who they truly are. 

So essentially it is a zero-sum game! It punishes the over-speeders and rewards the law-abiding drivers with the same money.

This idea was adopted by Stockholm, Sweden and in just one day they observed that the average speed of cars passing the camera dropped from 32 km/h before the experiment to 25 km/h after the speed lottery camera was installed. That’s a 22% reduction in speed! [2]

Therefore, we can conclude that even big problems like over-speeding can be solved by making tedious acts fun through social gamification.

[1] https://www.creditdonkey.com/speeding-statistics.html

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iynzHWwJXaA

Having a visible tattoo at work has long been frowned upon in certain professions, such as law, healthcare and finance. However, Debbie Darling, who runs her own marketing and PR agency, says her body art has been nothing but a bonus in her career. Her tattoos have become a talking point when she goes to networking events and it gets her remembered. 

"People ask 'have you got any more, what inspired you to do it, what do they mean?' People who you wouldn't expect to have tattoos will say, I have one on my leg or on my back. It makes the conversation a bit more human."

The cultural demographic has changed far quicker than the established workplace culture. The number of people with one or more tattoos has changed in less than a decade. This rapid shift is also reflected more generally across the population, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z and beyond, with each cohort becoming more artistically decorated. The driving force, however, was, and still is, the young. 

It seems like employers are becoming more tolerant of visible tattoos. Air New Zealand said it would end a ban on body arts to allow workers to express their individuality and cultural heritage. In 2018, London's Metropolitan Police partially relaxed a ban on recruiting candidates with body art, saying tattoos would now be considered on a "case by case basis".

Attitudes at work have been changing over the past two decades. But the situation is not "black and white" and many firms still won't hire if one has prominent body art. Employers associate tattoos with being a "thug" or "rough" and get nervous about hiring.

Over the last 5 years there have been reports of electricians, consultants, airport workers and waitresses losing jobs, or being ruled out of them, because of their body art. If an employer adopts a dress or appearance code, employees still have to follow it unless there are specific religious or cultural grounds not to. 

As much as attitudes are changing, it is still an issue to many employers because of the stigma that comes with body art. However, is it really an issue and does it affect one’s work just because they have a different form of expression on themselves?

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48620528

By releasing 40 shades in their very first launch, Fenty Beauty has set the bar high for many other makeup brands when it comes to inclusivity. Rihanna and her Fenty team were praised worldwide for introducing an extensive palette that caters to all makeup lovers regardless of their race and skin tone. Many other makeup brands saw the outstanding success they had and followed right into their footsteps by expanding their shade ranges to show their consumers that their brand are inclusive as well. Thanks to Fenty Beauty, 40 shades of foundation is now an industry standard and makeup lovers all the world are given more options to choose from. 

Fenty Beauty is so successful, they reportedly made $100 million in sales within their first 40 days of launching and since then, they have only continued to grow. Compared to other cosmetic companies, Fenty Beauty has not been in the industry for a very long time, however they were able to make it into the list of of Top 10 US Makeup Brands(as of December 2019). This just further proves how well received the brand is.

The biggest take from this is that in order to gain a consumer’s love and trust, they need to feel included and valued by the brand. Consumers tend to stay loyal to a brand because they share the same values or support the same cause; and that is exactly what Fenty Beauty has done by creating makeup for users to feel empowered.

 https://www.lvmh.com/houses/perfumes-cosmetics/fenty-beauty-by-rihanna/

 

Solution: Stanford Biochemist Pat Brown has the solution to help combat this problem. For those who crave meat but still want to play a part in fighting climate change, they don’t have to sacrifice meat or dairy anymore. With Impossible Foods, which is made from engineering a plant-based substitute using heme(a component of an oxygen carrying molecule that is also present in blood), Brown was able to replicate meat without actually slaughtering an animal, thus saving land space, feed, amount of time needed to rear an animal, which all reduces carbon emission. It also does taste like meat too, as the use of heme replicates the characteristics of beef. The crispiness, juiciness, and the tenderness of the meat is still there, however it is derived purely from plants. And it seems to have worked like magic because restaurants all over the world are now including it in their menus; $30 vegan cheeseburger at Hong Kong's Grand Hyatt hotel, the Impossible Burger at Swensens outlets. It is clear that businesses see this as an opportunity to not only reduce their own carbon footprint, but also appeal to a generation of youths that are increasingly concerned about social issues, climate change being one of the biggest problems that is going to impact them the most. Regardless of intent, it is clear to see how in times of crisis, people can take it as an opportunity for innovation to make the impossible, possible.

https://time.com/collection/genius-companies-2018/5412506/impossible-foods/
https://impossiblefoods.com/

A main problem for makeup enthusiasts and beauty customers worldwide is the issue of not being able to try a makeup product properly before purchasing it. Yes, even though we can try with a make up tester, it is unhygienic and most would find it troublesome having to walk around the store and swatching different products on their hand, especially those with hands full of shopping bags. 

The thing about makeup is that its sort off an investment and before you want to invest on something, you usually have to review and try it out for yourself. But with sanitation issues with makeup, it is really difficult for a customer to truly test out the product before purchasing it. Social Media ads and post sure comes handful in influencing the buying of makeup but neither does it allow you to try it for yourself. This makes it a hassle and sort off a gamble for people buying makeup since you will never know whether its good or not unless you try it yourself first-handedly e.g. ( whether a product is long-lasting or suits your skin tone and what not ). 

Thus, Sephora has introduced a brand new function in their app which allows people to try on Sephora’s makeup products at their own convenience. This not only tackles the inconvenience of having to go out specifically just to try on your makeup, it also avoids the risk of passing germs and sharing products with others. Furthermore, there is no more fear of worrying in investing on a makeup product for you will know how it looks on you! 

Even though this is not a fully perfect function yet, it is a start of something new in the beauty and AR industry and it helps create a new innovation and revolution. It’s convenience in accessibility, hygienic and empowers makeup users to have confidence in the products and on how it looks on them. If the face recognition function is further developed and improved, this will help end the stigma of makeup consumers being afraid and troubled by makeup products.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, one-third of the world's food is wasted from farm to table and that if food waste was a country, it would be the 3rd largest global greenhouse gas emitter, after US and China.

Solution:
One of the contributing factors to food waste that has not been widely explored and discussed: Cosmetic Filtering.

It is proven that ugly food taste just as good as perfect-looking food and is as nutritious. Thus, with tireless experimentation and several iterations, a series of intricately-designed and mouth-watering food products is born!
 
UglyFood:
UglyFood approaches and establishes relationships with stakeholders such as wholesalers, importer, distributors and wet market stall owners to gather fresh produce that would otherwise be wasted. 
They then divert the fresh produce away from the incineration plants and the landfill by transforming them into healthy and delectable food products. They offer their products in SUTD and at pop-up events like Farmers’ Markets and private events.

UglyFood are also currently piloting their ‘Subscription Model’ in co-working spaces and office pantries.

https://www.uglyfood.com.sg/about-us