Hasna Kourda grew up on an island in Tunisia where her grandmother taught her the strong values of looking after old things. Clothes were reused and repurposed continuously, Kourda says. A large bag made from old clothes by her grandmother is still used by her parents today. Kourda has brought these values into a project that she hopes could change the relationship people have with their clothes—and benefit the environment in the process.

The clothing industry—from material sourcing（来源）to washing and waste is considered to be responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions（碳排放）, according to the UN. As the world races to meet its promises to limit carbon emissions to net zero by the middle of the century, the clothing industry has a huge job ahead of it to play its part.

Kourda is among those who hope to help do that. Her way is to encourage people to go looking for new ways of using the clothing they already have rather than buying something new. Her company, Save Your Wardrobe, uses technology to help people go shopping in their own wardrobes. The company uses computer software to build a digital image of a user’s wardrobe people can either take pictures of clothes or allow.

Save Your Wardrobe to check their online shopping history. It then wardrobe advises how to create new clothes as well as connecting users to repair and alteration（更改）services, and environmentally friendly dry cleaning.

In October the company began to work with the German company Zalando, which will use Save Your Wardrobe technology to offer customers aftercare for their clothes.

“The job,” says Kourda, “is to use technology to guide users to reconnect with the clothes of their wardrobe and make the most out of it, finally encouraging them to buy less and better”.

Save Your Wardrobe is just one of a huge number of companies using new technology and different business models to try to overhaul（全面改革）the industry. From encouraging new ways of consuming clothes, to making it possible for clothes to be recycled at the end of their life, the clothing world could look very different by the time we reach 2045.

Cathy Hackl’s son wanted to celebrate his ninth birthday, but he didn’t ask for a party or gifts. He asked if he could hold the celebration on Roblox, a digital platform (数码平台) where users can play and create games. He and his friends wouldn’t meet in person—they would attend the party online.

“They hung out and played and they went to other different games together,” Hackl says. “It happens in a virtual (虚拟的) space but it’s very real to my son.”

Roblox is part of the metaverse (虚拟世界), a “place” similar to the real world. Today, millions of people spend hours a day in online communities. We enter the metaverse through virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), or simply on a screen. These experiences allow a stronger connection between our digital and physical lives. But these two worlds are already mixed together, no headset (头戴式视图器) required. Think about the Google Map. It uses location data to help people find the best way to a place.

The metaverse is part of the Internet. And there are plenty of Internet problems. For example, the personal information may be stolen. These suggest how challenging a future in the metaverse could be. However, many people believe the metaverse has real benefits. They say it can enlarge social networks.

Hackl is a metaverse expert. She’s also Latina (拉丁美洲裔女性). “We need to see people like me in these public-facing roles,” she says. “You can inspire a lot more people to join and say, ‘Hey, I am welcome and highly valued in this metaverse world. I’m sure I can build a different life.’” For those who are already spending part of their life in the metaverse, that building has begun.

Carrie Tatsu runs a business in the metaverse. But she wants her kids to spend as much time as possible in the real world. “It’s so important for humans to be with humans in real life,” she says. “I think that as kids grow up in this space, there must be some outlets for them to be connected with the real world, like tasting the delicious food, feeling the warm light on the face, having a face-to-face conversation with a real friend…any activity that can help them leave the virtual space and share their ideas in real life. Even though you can create a virtual world online, it is not the same as the real one.”

Have you noticed that there are more parks in cities these days? From “pocket parks” between communities to forest parks in the outer cities, local governments have been making efforts to make China’s cities greener.

    1    . These leisure spaces open up forests so that visitors can walk through nature and get closer to wildlife. The city will build more than 50 woodland parks by 2025.

In some cities, more companies and universities have chosen to “open their gates” and share their greenery. For example, the Shanghai Research Institute of Sport Science opened its 1,000 km² green land to the public. The park is joined by historical buildings in the area,     2    . In Nanning, parks aren’t just used for leisure. For one thing, parks have become a place to spread intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) to the public. The People’s Park has held several shows for free. And these parks also welcome visitors to watch Nanning’s traditional Yong Opera.     3    . That’s why the new Nanning Flowers Park provides several yards for playing ball games, and it often holds fitness activities.

Besides meeting people’s needs,     4    . Take Beijing’s Central Green Forest Park as an example. The park has reached carbon-neutral (碳中和) since it was opened in 2020. This means that although the facilities (设施) lead to the increase of CO₂ in the park, the plants there can take in more to make up. The park also fully reuses rainwater and creates green energy for the park.

    5    . They meet people’s needs for a better living experience and are a people-centered idea that takes the form of an improved natural environment in all fields.