LSN : News : Stat: Childcare issues are pushing American mothers out of the workforce

Regal Springs turns miracle rain of fish into business venture for locals

Heaven Fish, Ogilvy, Honduras

Honduras – Sustainable fish farming firm Regal Springs and ad agency Ogilvy have joined forces with the residents of Yoru to catch hundreds of fish falling from the sky twice a year for 20–30 minutes. The phenomenon known as Lluvia de Peces, the rain of fish, is said to be due to tornado-like columns of air sucking up the fish from the ocean and slinging them onto Yoro.

Regal Springs identified a business opportunity given the number of free tilapia, snapper and bass raining on the city. In April 2023, the company announced a new programme remunerating residents for catching fish. The people of Yoru only earn about £0.80 ($1, €0.92) per day throughout the year, but Regal Springs is paying nearly £4.80 ($6, €5.50) per pound of fish caught and brought to the firm’s centre for cleaning.

The final product, called Heaven Fish, is wrapped in sustainable packaging made from local banana peel before being sent to more than 200 restaurant and grocery partners in Honduras. On top of the money earned by the fish contractors, 80% of the revenue Regal Springs generates from Heaven Fish goes directly to the people of Yoro.

In our Sustainability Series, we analysed how Post-purpose Brands and businesses can respond creatively to similar natural phenomena induced by global warming.

Strategic opportunity

Running a proudly sustainable business includes questioning its impact on the planet, staff and the local community altogether. Consider how to set more ambitious policies to dedicate time and budget to uplifting locals with training and work opportunities to build a virtuous circle and enhance your brand’s authenticity

Oatly urges competitors to reveal their carbon footprint

Oatly, US

US – Oatly, the world’s largest oat drink company, has launched its Climate Footprint Challenge, calling on big dairy to reveal their products’ climate footprint. The new campaign offers big dairy companies free advertising (paid by Oatly) if they are willing to answer the same 68 questions Oatly had to answer to determine its own climate footprint. The ads will be featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, and on billboards in Times Square and Hollywood.

The campaign aims to advocate for transparency on the impact of products on the planet so consumers can make more informed choices. Oatly has also released data from a flash poll it conducted in the US on milk preferences that revealed that more than 54% of Gen Z and 49% of Millennials prefer plant-based milk to cow’s milk.

Oatly’s campaign strategy not only showcases its own concerted efforts on being sustainable – an important purchasing consideration for younger consumers – but advocates for accountability across the industry. This ties in with research from our Elastic Brands macrotrend that shows how consumers are no longer fazed by brand names, but instead are turning organisations inside out to seek transparency on their inner workings.

Strategic opportunity

Although Oatly’s campaign challenges rivals, brands can come out of this campaign by responding to it innovatively. In the fight for survival, smart brands should realise that working together beats operating in isolation

Captura builds aqua facility to capture carbon dioxide

Captura, US

US – American eco-tech company Captura is pioneering Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) technology that removes CO2 from the atmosphere using only renewable electricity and sea water.

In 2022, Captura set up a pilot stand-alone unit in Newport Beach, California, and is now planning a direct ocean facility at the Port of Los Angeles.

Developed at the California Institute of Technology, Captura’s DOC technology can cleanse 100 tons (90.7 tonnes) of carbon dioxide from the ocean each year.

The process involves adding acid to ocean water to extract CO2, then an alkaline base is added to neutralise the ocean water flow, which helps in absorbing atmospheric CO2.

The CO2-depleted sea water is then returned to the ocean, where it can react with the atmosphere to draw down an equivalent quantity of CO2.

Carbon capture is becoming a more popular way to pursue sustainability. In our Offset Sellers report we looked at how carbon offsetting is an accessible way for businesses and brands to pursue their eco-friendly goals and encourage consumers to do the same.

Strategic opportunity

Carbon capture technologies are gaining more attention in global sustainability efforts. It is crucial for your business to understand the impact of its carbon usage and communicate eco-friendly initiatives clearly to consumers

Stat: Childcare issues are pushing American mothers out of the workforce

Photography by Tima Miroshnichenko, Poland

US – A healthy work-life balance is only a dream for many mothers. A recent report paints a grim picture of motherhood, revealing how the system fails to support working mums.

For the 2023 State Of Motherhood report, Motherly gathered insights from nearly 10,000 mothers across the US. The findings are sobering – 25% of mothers are stay-at-home mums, compared to 15% in 2022. Many mothers leave the workforce by obligation rather than choice, as 18% of mums changed jobs or left the workforce in the past year. Of those, 28% said they did so to be at home with young kids, but 15% are staying at home due to a lack of childcare.

Among families who rely on outside childcare, one in five aren’t satisfied with the care. A whopping 69% call it a crushing expense, prompting women to put their careers on hold and take on childcare themselves. ‘It’s time for us to re-imagine our workplace cultures around the realities of motherhood and invest in the structural supports mums need to work and have kids,’ argues Reshma Saujani, CEO and founder of non-profit organisation Moms First.

These figures show our collective responsibility to do better for mothers, but also for those who choose to forego motherhood altogether.

Strategic opportunity

As an employer, what can you do to attract and retain the pool of talent that mothers represent? Does your company offer work flexibility to mothers and care-givers?