December 11, 2023
Studio
Raheem Sterling x New Balance
*Trigger warning: May cause tears and tugged heartstrings*
Raheem Sterling and New Balance have revealed a limited-edition Furon 7 that celebrates the England international’s journey.
Released under the phrase ‘Route To Success’, the boots are inspired by Sterling’s commute as a young player, which saw him take 3 buses across London to make it to his training sessions at QPR.
The design is based on the iconic seat patterns typically found on British buses, while the soleplate comes adorned with the three bus routes that Sterling took to training, as well as his sister’s name, Lakima, who used to take him to his sessions.
“We’d leave at 3:15 and get home at 11pm. Every. Single. Day. She’d sit upstairs in the little cafe and chill until I was done training. Imagine being 17 years old and doing that for your little brother.
“My family always encouraged me to follow my dreams and it’s that confidence that helped me get where I wanted to be. Everyone made sacrifices. Everyone contributed to my success.”
Sterling debuted the boots in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace and will continue to wear them for his upcoming fixtures this season.
Dove releases groundbreaking report
Toxic beauty standards are costing people their health, happiness and lives, according to new research from Dove.
In a groundbreaking new report called ‘The Real Cost of Beauty’, the company reveals that harmful beauty standards cost the US economy more than $500 billion per year through body dissatisfaction and appearance-based discrimination.
This report explores the impacts of harmful beauty ideals through the dual pathways of body dissatisfaction (the ways we think and feel about ourselves) and appearance-based discrimination (the way we treat others), and is the first report of its kind to holistically consider the wide range of impacts associated with harmful beauty ideals and attribute costs.
Describing the impact of toxic standards as a public health crisis, Dove said it will take a range of initiatives, underpinned by robust research and supported by multi-sector partnerships, to help drive broader social change.
Dove has made a commitment to portraying real and diverse beauty in all of its advertising since 2004 and started The Dove Self-Esteem Project (the educational arm of Dove) the same year, to help the next generation develop a healthy relationship with the way they look.
Read the full report here.
Quality Street - The End Of An Era
Take a right on Quality Street and then a left on Memory Lane and you’ll arrive at your destination.
No more colourful wrappers.
Our favourite chocolate tub (sorry Celebrations) is swapping its plastic wrappers for recyclable paper as it commits to doing more for the environment.
The latest change comes after Nestle tried swapping the outer plastic layer for compostable cellulose in 2008, but found most were still thrown in the bin. It is hoped that this swap will keep around 2 billion wrappers a year out of landfill.
Nine of the 11 Quality Street sweets will move to a specially created vegetable-based coating designed to keep the chocolates fresh without hindering the recycling process, while the orange crunch and green triangle will remain in foil wrappers.
The change will take a few months to complete, so Christmas tubs will have a mix of old and new wrappers.
Like a chocolate Christmas Carol with the ghosts of Quality Street past, present and future.
