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SINGAPORE – Revivo BioSystems’ new “organ-on-chip” device contributes to the growing number of cosmetic testing platforms that seek to replace animal testing.
Mr Chan Chung Hou, a senior lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Chemical and Life Sciences, said that many of such cruelty-free methods, which have been scientifically validated by various organisations internationally, are cheaper and faster than animal tests.
The Straits Times looks at some alternatives to animal testing.
Computer modelling or in-silico screening can predict how compounds – such as the active ingredients in a cosmetic product – will interact with target proteins in the body.
A 2018 study led by scientists from Johns Hopkins University found that such computer models were able to model a new chemical’s toxicity accurately 87 per cent of the time, higher than the 81 per cent accuracy rate of animal tests.
In-vitro or “in-glass” tests refer to those that are done in the laboratory using test tubes or petri dishes, for instance, as opposed to those done on animal or human bodies.
These tests typically involve cell cultures, where extracted human cells are grown in artificial environments. The effects of the cosmetic products on these cells are analysed to determine if they are safe and work as they are supposed to.
Skin irritation tests using in-vitro methods are replacing the traditional ones done on rabbits and produce better results, claims Cruelty Free International. In-vitro methods reliably predict the responses of human skin to chemicals 86 per cent of the time, while the traditional tests are only 60 per cent accurate.
Although the effects of cosmetic products on cell cultures in isolation may differ from their effects on the actual human body, the creation of even more sophisticated “organ-on-chip” technologies like the one launched by Revivo BioSystems can further improve the accuracy of in-vitro methods.
A technique known as “microdosing” can be used in the early stages of cosmetic product development, where volunteers are given an extremely small amount of the product in question, and their bodies’ responses to the product, such as skin reactions, are analysed.
As these microdosing tests seldom provide sufficiently concrete data on their own, they are useful in determining whether a product or drug should be tested on a wider group of human volunteers, and can reduce the number of animal trials conducted.
While the efficacy of microdosing for cosmetic testing is less conclusive, a 2017 study by the University of New South Wales and the University of Tasmania in Australia said the technique, which is more commonly used for drug trials, managed to predict the effects of drugs administered at full dose 80 per cent of the time.
Looking for Amazon alternatives for ethical shopping? Here are some ideas
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According to new research, there is a complex post-pandemic retail landscape, including a shift to omnichannel shopping, which has resulted in a need to rebalance marketing strategies to ensure customer experiences are both seamless and profitable.
This means to succeed in retail and deliver both value and sustained growth brands should take “a balanced and nuanced approach.” Getting this balance right is crucial as marketers increasingly come under pressure to do more with less.
The report ‘Retail’s balancing act: A guide to sustainable performance’, released by WARC in partnership with Google, aims to provide marketers with a guide to unpacking three balancing acts to unlock sustainable growth.
The report not only highlights the challenges faced by the industry in achieving a balance but also provides insights from consumer perspectives that suggest potential solutions. Additionally, it includes practical advice and real-life examples on how to effectively tackle challenges as they arise.
“There have been profound changes in the way consumers research and shop, and for retailers digital is likely to be the foremost playground for consumers to interact with brands,” said Melissa Lee, Sector Director and Head of Retail, Brand, Finance and Government Sales, Google APAC.
Edward Pank, Managing Director APAC & VP Advisory, WARC, added: “As businesses respond and rapidly digitize their operations to keep up with new ways of shopping, the shift has created new opportunities for retailers to connect with their customers online and leverage data-driven insights to cater to the omnichannel consumer.
“But this shift also means balancing an intricate web of factors to respond to the pressures on profitability. Our white paper in partnership with Google provides valuable insights for retailers looking to navigate this new digital era and achieve sustainable performance.”
“Omnichannel shoppers have proven to be higher value customers bringing in 1.5 – 2.1x more value than non-omnichannel customers.”
Warc and Google summarized the following insights from the report
Balancing investments over the long and short
Choosing between long and short-term strategies, namely brand and performance marketing, is a ‘false dichotomy’ that does not enable sustainable brand growth and profit.
Both tactics are complementary and needed for successful marketing and marketers should find the balance between the two in order to maintain consumer demand.
While brands may be tempted to discount to secure short-term wins, marketers should invest in brand equity to deliver value, build trust and loyalty to create future demand.
Claus Kristensen, VP, Marketing & Ecommerce, APAC, The LEGO Group, says: “It’s important to constantly optimise what and how you engage with your shopper for conversion. At the same time, you want to take away some volatility by creating loyalty and you do that through brand building. Shoppers are becoming savvier and more conscious. So, while price and convenience are crucial, them identifying with your brand and values is more important.”
Balancing the use of brand(dot)com and marketplaces
The proliferation of emerging digital channels and touchpoints, such as brand(dot)com and marketplaces, has provided brands with exciting new creative playgrounds to experiment with, but it also means more channels to trial and evaluate with limited resources.
In Southeast Asia, marketplaces account for 75% of all post-pandemic online spending and 55% of shoppers utilise brand(dot)com along their path-to-purchase journey.
Peggy Zhu, Senior Director and Head of Brand & Growth Marketing, Shopee, said: “Marketplaces have evolved beyond serving as a transactional platform for completing purchases, and now encompass the full funnel for brands from discovery to purchase. For brands without resources to enable full-funnel marketing on brand(dot)com, investing in marketplaces might be more efficient to meet online business objectives.”
To ensure ROI marketers will need to consider budget and find the right balance across platforms to leverage both marketplaces and brand(dot)com.
Balancing the intricacies of omnichannel
Omnichannel shoppers have proven to be higher value customers bringing in 1.5 – 2.1x more value than non-omnichannel customers.
To achieve omnichannel excellence, brands must break down silos and evolve legacy staffing models, both of which are barriers to getting a holistic view of the customer.
Creating a holistic measurement program is a starting point for marketers to gain insight into the multitude of touchpoints, known as the ‘Messy Middle’, that are most effective in driving consumers into a purchase decision.
One way to achieve holistic measurement is by adopting Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) techniques, which allows marketers to measure the impact of their campaigns and determines how various channels contribute to their goals.
Yan Huang Lu, Head of Growth & Intelligence, Castlery, said: “Leverage your customer data to identify the most important drivers of omnichannel conversions, validate your assumptions, and invest resources behind these drivers. This will help you become more customer centric in your omnichannel strategy, and in turn boost profitability for your brand.”
Image by Patrick Tomasso
It feels like a luxury in New York too, to eat sopa de maní on a cold and bright winter afternoon, at a plank of a table under a makeshift roof in Sunnyside, Queens. This is where Bolivian Llama Party makes its claim for Bolivian food as essential to the city. The owners are three brothers, Alex, Patrick (the chef) and David Oropeza — each contributed a word to the restaurant’s name — whose parents come from Cochabamba in central Bolivia, at an elevation of around 8,400 feet. (Maybe “restaurant” is too strong a word. For now, Bolivian Llama Party is just a takeout window and some minimal outdoor seating, opened during the pandemic when the brothers’ outlets in food courts had to close.)
What is comfort food but the blessing of the familiar?
I know there are peanuts in the bowl before me, but I can hardly taste them, beyond a low, earthy throb. (You have to be careful to get the ratio of peanut to liquid right, Patrick tells me, or else the soup will be too thick; it should be creamy yet delicate, hearty without heaviness.) There’s so much in it: Bustos’s “endless” vegetables — here, carrots, celery, bell pepper and the indomitable potato — and tubes of penne that are toasted first, to draw out their nuttiness and change their texture just enough that they hold firm in the soup. They need to be pulled from the pan when they’re still a shade shy of gold, Patrick advises, because they’ll keep cooking with the residual heat.
In Bolivia, the soup is topped with thick wedges of fried potato, like steak fries. Nobody minds when they get soggy. Patrick uses matchsticks instead, which fry faster and stay crispy. He primes the stock with a powder of pulverized locoto chiles, gutsier than jalapeños, and quilquiña, an herb that has the sunny grassiness of cilantro, with a sly kick. (In the summer, he grows his own; it may be easier to find papalo, quilquiña’s Mexican cousin.)
Traditionally, too, the soup is made with meat. Patrick likes it with brisket, which his mother, who favors chicken, finds controversial. But he also wanted to come up with a vegan version that delivered the same turfy undertones — “something that would make me happy as a meat eater,” he says. So he doubles up on vegan and vegetable bouillon and adds nutritional yeast.
… update next month book group organic sales growth of 8% in the …
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Electrify Everything!, South Portland’s electrification rebate program, has been recharged.
Launched by the city of South Portland Office of Sustainability on Sept. 1, 2022, Electrify Everything! provides rebates for the purchase of electric vehicles, electric lawn care equipment, e-bikes, heating and cooling systems, and home weatherization. Through March 2023, we have given out $100,000 in rebates, with another $150,000 still available.
Courtesy image
This column is to announce that Electrify Everything! has been updated to reflect our push for carbon neutrality by 2050. Beginning April 1, 2023, increased rebate amounts are available for electric bikes, e-cargo bikes and lawn mowers. We have relaxed requirements for the purchase of battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, making both used and out-of-state electric vehicle purchases eligible. We’ve also added rebates for the purchase of string trimmers.
Here is a summary of updates we have made to Electrify Everything! with the goal of improving access and accelerating our efforts:
1. Battery Electric Vehicle and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle may be purchased either new or used, and in- or out-of-state from reputable dealerships.
2. Increase the rebate for electric bikes (e-bikes) from $300 to $500.
3. Increase the rebate for electric cargo bikes (e-cargo bikes) from $500 to $800.
4. Increase the rebate for electric lawn mowers from $100 to $300.
5. Addition of string trimmer rebate for $50.
For more information and to apply, visit www.southportland.org/electrify.
The importance of beneficial electrification
Nearly a third of city-wide greenhouse gas emissions come from our transportation sector. An additional 19 percent of greenhouse gas emissions originate in our residential buildings, meaning that more than half of all city-wide emissions could be eliminated through beneficial electrification. Electrify Everything! helps South Portland advance toward our One Climate Future goals in the following ways:
1. Reduce vehicle carbon emissions: Electrify Everything! steers South Portland towards the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 through encouraging the mode shift away from gas-powered vehicles and equipment.
2. Decarbonize buildings through beneficial electrification: Maine’s energy grid is clean and the state’s governor recently doubled down on efforts to reach 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2040. To tap into Maine’s clean energy grid, One Climate Future calls for the replacement of furnaces and other appliances that burn natural gas or oil with electric appliances like heat pumps and heat pump water heaters.
3. Increase affordability of electric vehicles and appliances: In addition to Efficiency Maine and other state and federal rebates, Electrify Everything! alleviates the cost of electric vehicles and appliances for low and moderate income South Portland residents looking to make the transition away from fossil fuels.
4. Promote energy efficiency: Insulation and weatherization of buildings reduces the amount of energy required to operate them. It also helps building occupants stay safe and comfortable no matter the conditions outside.
Please reach out to the Sustainability Department with any questions about Electrify Everything! at https://southportland.org/departments/sustainability-office.
Our Sustainable City is a recurring column in the Sentry intended to provide residents with news and information about sustainability initiatives in South Portland. Follow the Sustainability Office on Instagram @soposustainability.
Steve Genovese is an AmeriCorps/Greater Portland Council of Governments Resilience Corps fellow serving in the South Portland Sustainability Office through September 2023. He can be reached at [email protected]
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SINGAPORE – Revivo BioSystems’ new “organ-on-chip” device contributes to the growing number of cosmetic testing platforms that seek to replace animal testing.
Mr Chan Chung Hou, a senior lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Chemical and Life Sciences, said that many of such cruelty-free methods, which have been scientifically validated by various organisations internationally, are cheaper and faster than animal tests.
The Straits Times looks at some alternatives to animal testing.
Computer modelling or in-silico screening can predict how compounds – such as the active ingredients in a cosmetic product – will interact with target proteins in the body.
A 2018 study led by scientists from Johns Hopkins University found that such computer models were able to model a new chemical’s toxicity accurately 87 per cent of the time, higher than the 81 per cent accuracy rate of animal tests.
In-vitro or “in-glass” tests refer to those that are done in the laboratory using test tubes or petri dishes, for instance, as opposed to those done on animal or human bodies.
These tests typically involve cell cultures, where extracted human cells are grown in artificial environments. The effects of the cosmetic products on these cells are analysed to determine if they are safe and work as they are supposed to.
Skin irritation tests using in-vitro methods are replacing the traditional ones done on rabbits and produce better results, claims Cruelty Free International. In-vitro methods reliably predict the responses of human skin to chemicals 86 per cent of the time, while the traditional tests are only 60 per cent accurate.
Although the effects of cosmetic products on cell cultures in isolation may differ from their effects on the actual human body, the creation of even more sophisticated “organ-on-chip” technologies like the one launched by Revivo BioSystems can further improve the accuracy of in-vitro methods.
A technique known as “microdosing” can be used in the early stages of cosmetic product development, where volunteers are given an extremely small amount of the product in question, and their bodies’ responses to the product, such as skin reactions, are analysed.
As these microdosing tests seldom provide sufficiently concrete data on their own, they are useful in determining whether a product or drug should be tested on a wider group of human volunteers, and can reduce the number of animal trials conducted.
While the efficacy of microdosing for cosmetic testing is less conclusive, a 2017 study by the University of New South Wales and the University of Tasmania in Australia said the technique, which is more commonly used for drug trials, managed to predict the effects of drugs administered at full dose 80 per cent of the time.
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