The MoMA Rain Room is a thrilling installation that uses motion sensors to detect the human body. You can walk through the rain while being virtually untouched. The exhibit will be open until July 28th.
Its free for all CUNY students!
Check out the details here
Businesses worldwide are participating in the recent green movement to help sustain the environment. For some companies, this is a great opportunity to spread environmental awareness and profit from their effort. Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has taken advantage of this sustainability concept with their latest business efforts.
Despite recent news about H&M’s declining sales (now the world’s second largest apparel company after Inditex which owns Zara ), the company has already begun to take action in hopes of improving. In May, when the Rana Plaza factory building in Bangladesh collapsed killing more than 1,000 garment workers, H&M agreed to sign a legally binding contract to improve building and fire safety. H&M, which produces more clothing in Bangladesh than any other apparel company, posted a detailed press release on its website of the accord. Other companies [such as Inditex and PVH (which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)] have followed suit in the pledge for safer work conditions in Bangladesh factories.
The Swedish retailer introduced a new recycling plan to cut waste in the fashion world by offering discounts to consumers who turn in their old clothes at H&M stores. The program started in February and is expected to be in all H&M stores by the end of the year. For every bag of clothes, regardless of brand and condition, the company will give a small discount. According to it’s U.S site, H&M offers a voucher for 15% off one item per bag of clothing with a limit of two vouchers per day. The revenue from the returned garments will be donated to local charities and invested in recycling initiatives.
At a time where technology and businesses are introducing innovative ways to help our environment, it is important we keep our social responsibility. If you are interested in more information about corporate accountability and sustainability issues, check out Baruch College’s CSR-Sustainability Monitor which compares analytic results drawn from 560 companies worldwide, ranks the top companies, and reviews the finding from a greater perspective.
The rising cost of rent isn’t exactly a new occurrence nowadays. In this economy, increases in rent have been a problem for millions around the world. In Hong Kong, local favorites owned by small business owners are being forced to relocate due to uncontrollable rental costs.
Nam Kee Noodles is a staple in the Causeway Bay shopping district of Hong Kong. Seats can accommodate up to 40 people and lines are formed outside of the store during lunchtime. The restaurant is known for its spicy noodle soup, dumplings and iced soy milk. However, soaring rents are pushing businesses like Nam Kee Noodles out from the shopping district.
The cost to stay in business is overwhelming for these mom and pop shops. According to Cushman & Wakefield, rent in Causeway Bay has risen about 80 percent since mid-2010 and have more than doubled since 2007. Nam Kee Noodles had their rent tripled to almost $60,000 per month. “It was too expensive. We cannot afford that,” said Au Kei-hong, the stolre’s manager. Negotiations with the store’s landlord have allowed Nam Kee Noodles to stay in business for another year, which will probably be their last in Causeway Bay.
Businesses are feeling the pressure now more than ever, as stores haven’t been as lucky as Nam Kee Noodles. Tsui Yuen Desserts, which sold delicacies like ginger-flavored milk custard and sweet black sesame soup for about $2.50 had to relocate from Causeway Bay to Wan Chai. The store has far less customers stopping by for a bowl of dessert now that they’ve moved to Wan Chai, an area that doesn’t get too many tourists or shoppers.
High-end clothing stores are thriving in the area such as British owned Topshop and Japanese retailer Uniqlo, both which have opened stores in recent months. Taxes on high-end goods are much lower in Hong Kong than in mainland China, so these retailers are popular amongst tourists and visitors alike.
Luxury and jewelry stores are slowly dominating the area because they can afford the high rent costs. Restaurants, hardware stores and herbal medicine vendors are all being squeezed out of the area. These mom and pop shops however, are vital to the balance of the Hong Kong ecosystem.
Source: New York Times
Imagine a world where gas is obsolete as fuel for vehicles, where not a single car emits carbon dioxide. What sounds like science fiction could be a reality sooner than you think. Earlier this month, General Motors and Honda announced a partnership to develop a hydrogen fuel cell. Both companies have been working independently on fuel cell technology for decades and hope to reduce costs and share resources with this new agreement. What does this mean for you? Should automakers successfully introduce hydrogen-powered cars to the market, they could be flooding the streets as early as 2020. You could be the owner of a cleaner, cheaper and more fuel-efficient car by the time you have a family.
But what’s so great about fuel cells anyway? In addition to offering faster refueling times, a car powered by a fuel cell can drive just as far as a gasoline-powered vehicle but without the carbon footprint; the only byproduct is water vapor. The cell generates electricity by combining hydrogen from an internal tank with oxygen from the air. Development costs are high, however, thanks to the use of expensive materials needed to manage the chemical reaction.
With all the benefits of hydrogen-powered cars, you might be wondering why there aren’t more on the street today. The biggest issue is that hydrogen refueling stations are few and far in-between. The problem is a Catch-22; governments are hesitant to invest in refueling stations if no one owns a fuel cell car, but nobody wants to own a fuel cell car if they can’t refill their tank. To that end, GM and Honda are keen on “work[ing] with state and local governments to expand the network of hydrogen refueling stations.” Honda has already started this process in Japan and America and a pilot program in California has been putting fuel cell vehicles on the road. The state has implemented various zero-emission vehicle requirements to take effect by 2018 and several other states are expected to follow suit within the next ten years. If all goes well, we’ll be one giant step closer to a cleaner environment. Welcome to the future.
What’s your take on the future of fuel cell technologies? What are the implications on international business? Voice your thoughts in the comments section below.
For more information on the partnership between GM and Honda and insight into fuel cell technology, check out these links:
Fuel Cell Cars Back In The Limelight As GM, Honda Team Up On Mission To Attack Costs
G.M. and Honda to Collaborate on Fuel-Cell Development
International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy Overview
$1.05 billion. That is how much Americans spent on chocolate and candy this past Valentine’s Day, according to the National Confectioners Association.
70 percent of the world’s cocoa is produced in West Africa. What most may not know is that the prices of your favorite chocolate bar will escalate due to the shortage in production. Cocoa farmers are leaving this market in exodus. Why? Most farmers who do farm this crop can barely sustain their families because this kind of farming is neither lucrative nor sustainable due to climate change and political turmoil.
Cocoa is simply a hard crop to grow. The trees don’t start producing until three to five years after being planted. Also, climate change threatens to make farming it even more challenging. The crop needs hot, humid conditions, with temperatures no lower than 18 degrees C (64F) and no higher than 32C, according to U.K. risk advisory firm Maple-croft.
Sustainable farming methods need to be implemented in these regions to encourage farmers to carry on with this crop in order to improve cocoa yields.
On a global scale, foreign markets should implement policies that ensure that the local farmers are making some kind of living and that their rights are being respected. Buyers should also offer better prices to these farmers.
How may this all affect you? Well, your chocolate kisses may cost more next Valentine’s Day. To deal with more frequent cocoa shortages, confectioners have been shrinking the size of chocolate bars and adding more air bubbles to chocolate.
Due to my undying love for Cadbury and Hershey’s chocolates, it is my hope that companies will make investments for sustainable farming and advanced technologies in these cocoa producing regions such as Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Small strides have been made in this direction. Blommer Chocolate, the largest U.S. cocoa bean processor, and Singapore-based trader Olam International (OLAM) last year formed a joint venture to invest $12 million to raise yields by 2015. And candy giant Nestlé (NESN) will invest 110 million Swiss francs in cocoa science and sustainability initiatives from 2010 to 2019.
Click here for more information about the Sustainable Business Club at Baruch College
Source: BloombergBusinessWeek
Roosevelt Island is starting its Outdoor Summer Movie Series with a screening of “Hunger Games” on Saturday, June 29th.
Check out the details here.