Pressure mounts on retailers to reform throwaway clothing culture
Fast-growing, fast-fashion retailer H&M, which has more than 4,000 stores in 62 countries, sold $24.5bn worth of T-shirts, pants, jackets, and dresses last year. It also took 12,000 tons of clothes back. In a glossy, celebrity-studded video, H&M says: “There are no rules in fashion Read More...
Social entrepreneurs need to be futurists, too
Pick any social enterprise, and it's almost always a reaction to the past. After a natural disaster or a new refugee crisis, designers build new shelters and experiment with new aid delivery systems. After the public school system had already failed children, social entrepreneurs started building Read More...
A Ugandan village is releasing Silicon Valley satires to raise funds for its entrepreneurs
In Bulambuli district in eastern Uganda, everyone is an entrepreneur. Or so claim the residents of the town in a new campaign geared towards fundraising for their local start-up projects. The community’s appeal was released in a series of tongue-in-cheek videos posted on YouTube starting last Read More...
Massachusetts goes all in for offshore wind
America’s offshore wind industry has received a major boost with a Massachusetts law that requires utilities to procure a combined 1,600 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind farms in a little over 10 years. The legislation will make Massachusetts the largest producer of offshore wind in Read More...
Killing weeds with light beams, not pesticides
At The Optimist Daily we are convinced that organic agriculture can feed the world in a healthy way. But on the way to that ultimate goal we may need some help from technology. Here’s an example: The U.S. Air Force is experimenting with a device that removes weeds without the use of toxic Read More...
Smart surgical thread keeps track of wounds as they heal
Engineers have developed a special kind of stitching that not only keeps wounds together, but also monitors them in case of infection or strain. The “smart thread” is coated with chemicals that can measure pH, resistance and glucose, all of which indicate the health of the post-surgery area. Read More...
This eco-friendly fire could be the solution to oil spills
Disclaimer: What you are about to read may leaved you flabbergasted. Scientists at the University of Maryland have discovered a new state of burning that is nearly soot-free, and they believe it may be the solution for cleaning up oil spills. This new type of fire evaporates oil from the surface of Read More...
Stop procrastinating, and let your natural tendencies work for you
Ever heard of The Pomodoro Technique? It’s a simple system created in the 1980’s to help boost your productivity one task at a time while revealing to you what your personal work preferences are. Procrastinator or not, The Pomodoro Technique is an optimal way to raise your productivity. Read More...
Building materials that tap into nature's elegant, and harmless, designs
Wednesday, August 10, 2016 - 12:59amThis article orignially appeared in the Verdical Group blog. Every year, about 15 billion tons of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere from concrete production alone. As cities continue to grow (according to the U.N., world urban populations Read More...
Scientists may have found the answer to a worrying human sperm mystery
Sperm quality in dogs has fallen rapidly over the past three decades, researchers have found, in a study which could explain the purported decline in human fertility. The findings have highlighted a potential link between environmental contaminants and fertility - after scientists discovered Read More...