LSN : News : Hinge teams up with writers on Substack to tell ‘real love stories’

Students win national award with DIY loom tackling fast fashion

Loopy Loom, UK

UK – A team of students from Cambourne Village College in Cambridgeshire have won the Design Museum’s Design Ventura 2025 competition with Loopy Loom, a simple, family-friendly tool designed to breathe new life into old clothes.

Created by pupils aged 13–16, the laser-cut wooden loom encourages users to transform textile waste into reusable fabric panels. The team’s goal was to tackle the environmental impact of fast fashion while promoting creativity and bonding between parents and children.

This year’s competition brief, under the theme of Change, was set by sustainable packaging pioneers Notpla and challenged students to improve everyday life for a chosen audience. Loopy Loom was selected from a shortlist of 10 by a panel including designer Sebastian Conran and past winner Jodie Valery.

A teacher from the school said Design Ventura ‘motivates students to improve skills such as initiative, research, creativity, teamwork and critical thinking – all skills the future generation will need’.

Now in its 15th year, the initiative has reached over 170,000 students and will see Loopy Loom developed for sale in the Design Museum Shop, with proceeds going to charity.

For more insights into this highly creative and inventive generation, check out our Gen Alpha macrotrend report.

Strategic opportunity

Tap into Gen Alpha’s growing eco-activism and maker mindset by developing accessible, creativity-led circular design tools and DIY kits that give waste a second life

Hinge teams up with writers on Substack to tell ‘real love stories’

UK – Dating app Hinge is expanding its storytelling strategy with the second instalment of its No Ordinary Love campaign through a five-part series on Substack. The project enlists emerging literary talent to share real-world relationship stories and the ‘emotional plot twists of early dating’, aiming to resonate with Gen Z daters seeking more meaningful connections.

‘We want to complement Substack’s community of writers and readers with honest, authentic perspectives on love from exciting literary voices,’ said Jackie Jantos, president and chief marketing officer at Hinge.

The campaign builds on growing interest in decentralised, community-led media platforms and reflects how Gen Z audiences value safe, emotionally resonant storytelling spaces, a notion we explored in our Cracking the Algorithm Code viewpoint report.

In-person book clubs in London and New York will also receive printed anthologies of the stories, underscoring a revival in communal reading and offline connection. As highlighted in our Gen Z Dating Futures report, these IRL experiences are gaining traction as daters seek intimacy beyond screens.

No Ordinary Love, Hinge Campaign

Strategic opportunity

Brands should look to decentralised storytelling platforms such as Substack and offline events to build emotionally resonant, community-first narratives that foster intimacy and trust with Gen Z audiences who are fatigued by algorithm-driven content

Stat: US consumers expect brands to lead on climate and DEI

DEI statistic, GlobeScan

US – As some businesses have been quietly rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, new data shows consumers want brands to step up to, not shy away from, these initiatives.

According to the latest survey by agency GlobeScan, 53% of Americans expect businesses to actively support DEI, with only 14% opposing it. Even among traditionally conservative voters, 38% back corporate DEI efforts.

Sustainability remains equally high on the agenda. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents believe companies should support government action to protect fresh water and more than half (52%) advocate for business-backed climate policy.

The expectation extends to leadership, with 71% saying CEOs should personally address climate issues and 67% expecting them to speak out about DEI progress. Gen Z leads this sentiment, with 78% supporting executive action.

The survey echoes findings from our new The Value Vanguard communities report and accompanying Future:Poll data, which found that many consumers now place more emphasis on values than they did five years ago and are quick to stop buying from a brand if they feel it does not reflect their standards.

Strategic opportunity

Companies should champion climate action and DEI initiatives, embedding transparent, values-led messaging into campaigns and leadership comms to build trust and loyalty with increasingly expectation-driven, socially conscious audiences