- [Narrator] This week, Jaden Smith
launches new vegan leather sneakers;
Stockholm fashion week bans fur;
and a new UK bill establishes fines
for products made with palm oil.
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Good news, couch potatoes.
You can now get Beyond Meat delivered straight to your door.
In an effort to make vegan meat accessible for all,
plant-based meat company Beyond Meat
launched a new eCommerce site.
The direct to consumer site
features the company's plant-based Brown beef
and sausages in a variety of new options,
which are available for order
in the contiguous United States.
These include mixed product bundles, bulk packs,
trial packs, and more.
The new website follows Beyond Meat's expansion
into more than 26,000 US retail outlets,
including Walmart, Target, Kroger, and Whole Foods.
The company's vegan meats are also available
in warehouse stores like Sam's Club and Costco.
- [Announcer] What if we took this cow off the table
and just made friends with her?
What if just taking the animal out of the meat
made us and our planet healthier?
- [Narrator] According to the company,
people have been buying more of its products
during the coronavirus pandemic.
Beyond Meat tripled its US supermarket sales
in this year's second quarter in the midst of the outbreak.
The California-based vegan meat producer
spent around $5.9 million
repackaging its products for sale in grocery stores
and increased its us supermarket sales by 195%.
With many restaurants still closed
or offering limited service,
quarter two saw an increase in consumers
preparing plant-based food and vegan meat at home.
Coming up: Jaden Smith launches a new style
in his vegan sneaker line.
Stockholm Fashion Week has banned fur and exotic leather
from its runways.
In 2019, the biannual Stockholm Fashion Week
was canceled due to major challenges in meeting demands
for more sustainable and innovative clothing.
The show made its return last week as a virtual event
amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
This time, it was completely free from fur
and exotic leather.
The Swedish fashion association,
the events new organizer announced the ban,
which was a result of campaign efforts
from international animal rights organization, PETA.
For three days, Stockholm Fashion Week
highlighted Swedish brands and designers.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
opened the event from her home at Haga Palace,
calling herself a proud wearer of Swedish fashion.
In her speech, the Crown Princess highlighted the importance
of creating a more sustainable fashion industry.
- Now, with the challenges ahead of us,
it is not only the clothes you make
that need to be innovative,
but how you make them.
As well as how they are sold, distributed,
worn, and eventually recycled.
- [Narrator] Stockholm Fashion Week
is not the first the industry to go fur-free.
Multiple events, including London Fashion Week.
Helsinki Fashion Week, Amsterdam Fashion Week,
and Oslo Fashion Week have banned fur.
Actor, musician and entrepreneur Jaden Smith
has expanded his vegan leather sneaker collection.
The musician teamed up
with footwear manufacturing company New Balance
to launch their first collaboration,
the NB for Jaden Smith Vision Racer back in July.
initially available in wavy baby blue,
New Balance's added a new wavy white color way,
which launched on August 31st.
Coming up: A new UK bill establishes fines
for products made with palm oil.
Black-owned vegan ice cream brand Kube
makes decadent frozen treats from raw coconut cream.
The California-based company also believes
social justice is food justice.
In December 2009, married couple Kai Nortey
and Nee-Nueh Nortey went on a trip to Ghana
that changed their lives.
It inspired them to start a vegan raw
coconut cream based ice cream business.
- Kube ice cream is the only brand
that's making the raw cold pressed clean coconut ice cream
without synthetic chemicals.
And our model can be replicated all over the world.
- [Narrator] The couple who are lactose intolerant
and (indistinct) dairy began to think
about coconut processing and the lack of fresh coconut cream
back in the Bay area in California.
Kai is vegan and has had issues with her gut flora.
Nee-Nueh has a lot of allergies
and eats mostly plant based diet.
Kube launched in 2017,
primarily selling to friends of friends of friends at first.
Kai explained: "This product is for everyone,
but I wanted Black folks to know that they're included."
She noted that Black people are not advertised
in other vegan ice creams.
That never made sense to her.
Given the prevalence of lactose intolerance
in populations descending from Africa.
In 2018, the Norteys began selling their ice cream
to the public at farmer's markets, cultural events,
private parties, and weddings in the Bay area.
Nowadays they make three or four batches
of Kube ice cream a day and always sell out.
Their nice cream, as they prefer to call it,
is made with raw unpasteurized, mature coconut cream.
- We call it nice cream, because it's nice to the belly
and the waistline.
It's not going to hurt our stomach,
because we're both lactose-intolerant.
- [Narrator] The Norteys are currently seeking
$3 million in order to scale their business.
So far, they have raised 123,000
from values aligned investors.
Of that amount, over 105,000 came from a campaign
on Crowdfund Mainstreet.
Kube's not only about bringing vegan non-dairy ice cream
into people's lives.
Ultimately, the Norteys want their business,
their product, and their impact on their community
to be a model for food justice.
Kai explained: "Food justice is the right to know
what's in your food and in your ingredients.
Food justice is the right to determine
new and healthier food systems.
And food justice is the right determine healthier outcomes
for people, animals, and the soil."
According to a new study, the global vegan cheese market
could reach $2.5 billion by the end of 2020.
Market intelligence company, Transparency Market Research,
published the study: vegan cheese products
are increasingly popular as consumers and producers
move away from traditional dairy.
According to the report,
competition within the market is high.
In response, a growing number of producers
are expanding their capacity to meet increased demand.
The study predicts a further increase to $7 billion
by the end of 2030.
The study notes: "Climate change, mounting concerns
related to animal cruelty, and health
are some of the leading factors
that are driving the vegan movement worldwide.
At present, veganism is at its peak
and the trend is likely to continue in the near future."
North America, Europe and the UK currently have
the majority of the vegan cheese market,
while Latin America and Asia
have the smallest part of the market.
But according to Transparency Market Research,
the popularity of cheese in the Asia Pacific region
is on the rise.
September 5th was Global Day of Action for the Amazon.
And the UK just proposed legislation
that aims to cut down on the sale of commodities
that are linked to deforestation
in rainforest like the Amazon.
Companies that sell certain products
containing palm oil and other commodities
like cocoa, beef and soy, could face a hefty fine.
Under the new law, larg UK businesses must show
where they have sourced their products.
Companies would be fined for using items
that were obtained from land that was illegally cleared.
International environment minister,
Lord Zac Goldsmith said in his statement,
"There's a hugely important connection
between the products we buy
and their wider environmental footprint.
Which is why the government is consulting on new measures
that would make it illegal for businesses in the UK
to use commodities that are not grown
in accordance with local laws."
That's it for today.
Will you be buying Beyond Meat for delivery?
What are your thoughts on Jaden Smith
new vegan leather sneaker?
Let us know in the comments below.
Remember to subscribe and hit the notification bell.
We'll see you again next week for Livekindly News.
(uplifting music)