How Data Helps Fight Fashion Waste

Geeks and fashion don't usually mix. Software engineers and other technology professionals are known for their reliance on t-shirts, sandals (often worn with socks) or sneakers and a predilection for wearing shorts in the freezing rain and snow. A bold fashion statement for most software engineers is making the decision to dye their hair green or blue.

But putting techie stereotypes aside for a moment, a new intersection point between the tech community and the fashion industry cognoscenti could be surfacing. The fashion industry is notoriously bad at product waste… and technology wants to come to the rescue.

Just hanging around

The BBC has reported one recent example where a fashion designer has helped to develop recyclable clothes hangers. Data analytics applied across fashion industry supply chains has shown the scale of waste in the business; designer Roland Mouret suggests that single-use clothes hangers are the ‘plastic straw' of the fashion industry.   Abendkleider Lang

Working with scientists, Mouret and his team have developed a new hanger constructed from 80% recycled ‘recovered sea plastic' and 20% recyclable plastic. The hanger problem is not just down to customers discarding them after purchase; apparently some fashion companies ship clothes on cheap hangers (which are then thrown away) before they transfer products to ‘fancier' hangers in store.

Hanger recycling company First Mile says that hangers take 1,000 years to break down in landfill. Clearly we need smarter supply chains, smarter city distribution networks, smarter adoption of recycled products and smarter hangers if we are going to combat this waste.

The 20 Most Anticipated Hotel Openings Of 2020

We all make New Year’s resolutions. The luxury hotel industry is no different. But rather than center its goals around diet changes or finding love, the sector has seemingly joined forces to accomplish one thing in 2020—to show you, the well-traveled guest, that when it comes to having memorable overnight experiences, the best is yet to come.

Whether you’re seeking staggering structures in the heart of a big city or intimate wine country escapes, the coming year will spawn an impressive roster of real estate. Of course, with all the tidying up you’ve resolved to do in your life, you don’t have the time to look into every resort on the cusp of opening its doors. Luckily, Forbes Travel Guide’s editors have donned the hard hats, looked over the renderings and constructed this list of 20 hot spots you’ll be hearing the most about in 2020.

Capella Bangkok

A brand that has sprinkled polished, memorable experiences across Asia and Europe since 2002, Capella is extending its reach to Bangkok in early 2020 with a 101-suite-and-villa beauty that will feature four stylish dining options, an Auriga Wellness spa and countless magical views over the Chao Phraya River.

Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok At Chao Phraya River

Situated on the same riverbanks as Capella Bangkok (and having the same owner), this 299-room wonder is generating its own wave of excitement prior to its early-2020 unveiling. One look at the stunning indoor-outdoor public spaces, seven dining and drinking outlets and riverfront infinity pool, and you begin to see why.
Six Senses New York

It takes a lot to turn heads in Manhattan. Needless to say, with its twisting tower design, contemporary stylings and enviable location between the High Line and Hudson River, the first Six Senses in North America will have little trouble getting attention when it opens in 2020. 
prom dresses canada

Emergent fashion markets can be volatile, so why risk? Why not work with established brands?

Hmm, I think out of empathy… I was never pushed or limited in my creative development. My grandma still has sketches of wedding dresses that I made at six or seven years old. You know, Lebanese weddings are a cultural phenomenon! [Laughs] I used to sing and dance and wanted to go to drama school. Parents encouraged me to focus on the business side of the arts. Now I want to do everything I can to make sure talent can get out there. You see, I’ve done “big” for a decade. In fact, everyone on my team comes from a top brand or a major agency. We all have worked on multinational campaigns with mega budgets. We want to put that knowhow to better use, because the drive is unparallel. A one-page editorial can bring joy and make all the difference to a growing brand. For big brands, it is a joke, an insult. Plus-minus a thousand likes means nothing to them. When you see an account grow 10, 50, 100 thousand followers in a year, there is real excitement, real engagement. The sense of discovery is what is lost in big brands right now. It is such a beautiful and rare feeling.

Bridesmaid Dresses

Cincinnati's Historic Neighborhood Hums Again

With street after street of fine Italianate buildings, Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood is getting its due these days as one of the nation's premier historic districts. For decades in deep decline, OTR is now a grand tale of urban revival, booming as it is with some 150 new restaurants, bars, and shops and businesses that have opened in the last few years.

Supported by a 19th-century cast- and wrought-iron frame, which deservedly earns it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, Findlay Market is an OTR landmark to which many visitors make a beeline.

A good way to see and taste all the market delights is to put yourself in the hands of Cincinnati Food Tours whose guides have relationships with all the vendors, thus making your sampling as fun and informative as it should be.


You'll meet in the center of the 167-year-old market, happily facing a more recent food stand addition called Taste of Belgium. You'll watch waffle maestros prepare a thick dough that in a style from the city of Liège is cooked in a cast iron press that caramelizes its beet sugar. And then say goodbye forever to your morning waffles.

Today, most of the ground floors to the fine Italianate houses that surround Findlay Market once again hold food establishments and businesses. Whether dining indoors or sitting under a picnic tent out front, you can enjoy Vietnamese soups and bánh mì at Pho Lang Thang. From sustainable cacao sourced worldwide, small batch bars and truffles are made in-house at the Maverick Chocolate Co. Pop into Dean's Mediterranean Imports and you'll find hummus, labneh and all kinds of foods that the area's original German immigrants certainly never dreamed of.

Another climate rally scheduled for Friday in Revelstoke

Students in Revelstoke are expected to turn out in record numbers on Friday, May 24 at City Hall between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Organizers are expecting students from each school in Revelstoke to participate. Each student has their own perspective, but overall they are asking for more urgent and stronger action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Others from the community are also expected to attend in support of the student movement.

This will be the third climate rally in Revelstoke, with previous rallies taking place on March 15 and May 3.

City councillors, the mayor and city staff have also been invited to this rally.

It is hoped that the students will have a chance to have their voices and concerns heard directly at the event and that city council will take the time to talk with students as well.

At the event, messages from individual students will be shared through email and instagram directly with representatives at local, provincial and federal governments.

After receiving messages from students at the rally on May 3, Wayne Stetski praised the students in the House of Commons and pushed for urgent climate action and the Green New Deal.

Stetski is unable to attend the May 24 rally but met with students from Revelstoke Secondary School last week to talk about climate action.

Individual Revelstoke city councillors have been supportive of previous events, but only one councillor has attended a rally to date. Students are hoping for a much larger city council and staff presence on May 24.

The previous Global Climate Strike had a strong turnout around the world. Organizers are expecting an even larger showing this Friday.

Join the event at lunch, bring your children. Join Youth from Revelstoke in pushing for climate action. Attend a solution oriented positive climate rally. Volunteers will be at City Hall to support you to make messages on cardboard and white boards which can be sent out to all three levels of government.

They will have all contact information at City Hall. This has the potential to be the biggest global climate rally yet, with a show of students from each school expected.

How to Travel with Kids

From antsy toddlers who don't want to sit still on a plane to dealing with popped tires on a long road trip, consider this your cheatsheet of pro tips on how to make the most out of family misadventures.

"My wife and I have different ideas about what vacations are all about. Her idea of a good time is to sit on the beach and read. When I go on vacation, I want to do things, and my boys, Jack and Tommy, ages 11 and eight, are the same. I've finally figured out that it's best to hire a local guide. They can handle some of the logistics, and everyone surfs and fishes better when we have someone leading us. Your kids will also listen to a guide more than they'll listen to you, which is key if you want them to learn a new skill, like how to catch a wave. But don't get the guide from the hotel concierge. Make friends with other hotel employees—they usually grew up nearby and have a cousin who surfs or fishes who can show you the real spots. Or use Instagram and reach out to pros who live in the area. You'd be surprised how many of them will respond with good info. I always try to answer people who direct-message me asking for advice."

"My husband and I took our minivan to 23 ski resorts around western North America when our daughter, Betty, was just eight months old. My parents followed in their own car. There were definitely logistical challenges, stressful times, and nights we barely slept, but we were skiing powder and with our family. Minimizing time on the road with the kid was the number-one goal. The roof box on the van was packed. We brought one pair of skis each and not much in the way of clothes—we lived in long underwear. The rest was stuff to keep the baby fed, clothed, warm, sleeping, and amused. We couldn't have done without the $20 plastic sled we bought from a gas station. We used it for entertainment, and it was much smaller and way better on the snow than a stroller. We also found ski towns with great activities for kids. For example, Washington's Mount Baker has cats that live in the lodge, and in Colorado, Crested Butte has a children's museum and there's a petting zoo near Aspen Highlands."

You Should Go To India's Kerala Region And This Is Where You Should Stay

It's not the India people think of when they conjure up images of the country. Instead of colorful frenzy, packed streets, tuk-tuks jockeying for a place in traffic, Kerala, in the country's southwest,  is serene, tropical, dotted with backwater canals. And it's especially tranquil bordering Lake Vembanad near the village of Kumarakom on the grounds of the CGH Earth property Coconut Lagoon. Recently reopened and restored after the damage caused by historic floods in Kerala last August, this  resort blends history, nature and just enough ayurvedic practices to be health inducing but not too austere.








The view of Lake Vembanad and the 150 year old restored tharavad houses.
The rooms are in 150 year old traditional tharavad houses,  local wood structures that were once threatened with destruction when residents elsewhere in the region planned to tear them down to build more modern ones from concrete or else were falling into disrepair.  Composed of beautiful teak and rosewood, they were taken apart, moved here, restored and reassembled, giving the resort the look of a handsome village in an earlier century. Sitting on the terrace of one of the heritage mansions in which duplex suites are housed, watching the  kettuvallams, the thatched roof rice boats now used for cruising, glide by is an appealing, gentle start to the day.

Coconut Lagoon has its own kettuvallam for guests to cruise through the quiet canals past fishermen and waving residents sitting on the banks while a panoply of multicolored birds from the adjacent bird sanctuary flutters alongside. So much revolves around the water  that there are also motorized canoes and a larger launch for sunset cruises and to ferry guests back to the resort's jetty—the resort is reachable only by boat which adds to the sense of tranquility and seclusion.

 For those who want to venture to the shore, there are bicycles to explore nearby villages to learn about local culture but there's plenty of opportunity to experience it without leaving the grounds.  A woman from the next village comes over every day at 4 to serve chai (tea)  and snacks from her canoe. In the restaurants, the culinary offerings are rich and varied, from the a la carte menu to the buffet in the main restaurant Ettukettu and the seafood restaurant Aymanam featuring local dishes such as the local lake fish karimeem, marinated, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled and konju vattichathu, tiger prawns baked in a clay pot. Even for fans of Indian food at home, the dishes on the buffet table will be discoveries, somewhat on the spicy side but absolutely delicious. And on most nights before dinner, another cultural aspect of the region is on view: dancers and musicians including performances of a particularly expressive dance known as OttanThullal.

Great snowy breaks around the world: readers’ travel tips

Winning tip: Snow trails, Valmalenco, Italy

This is a stunning area of Lombardy, high in the Alps. From the top of the Valmalenco cable car we followed snow trails through the woods to the enchanting Lago Palù, where we walked across the frozen lake to a little igloo with ice table and stools. Fifteen minutes further on we reached the cosy Rifugio Palù overlooking the lake below, where we stopped for a hearty lunch in the sunshine before jumping aboard its motor-sledge, which whisked us back to the cable car station. All three generations enjoyed the winter adventure.

Having no skiing skills, the best fun I ever had was snow tubing in Kyrgyzstan. The resort, Kashka Suu, a short drive from the capital, Bishkek, is not busy, has beautiful powdery snow and offers great runs for the whole family. The hotel is warm and the food wholesome. We went as a group of families and had a wonderful weekend under blue skies, whizzing down slopes in inner tubes, which the resort provided. And from £25 a night it offers great value for money.

The Roc’n Bob in Les Menuires, part of the Trois Vallées, is a 4km tobogganing run. The price includes use of the cable car that takes you to the top of the course, where you will pick up your toboggan, equipped with brakes used for slowing down and steering your way around the course. There are breathtaking views as you skid and slide around multiple turns and banks.