Category: News

Groundbreaking Research Identifies Lethal Dose of Plastics for Seabirds, Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals: “It’s Much Smaller Than You Might Think”

Stuart Mitchell

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences recently released a new study, “A quantitative risk assessment framework for mortality due to macroplastic ingestion in seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles.” Led by Ocean Conservancy researchers, the peer-reviewed paper is the most comprehensive study yet to quantify the extent to which a range of plastic types — from soft, flexible plastics like bags and food wrappers; to balloon pieces; to hard plastics ranging from fragments to whole items like beverage bottles — result in the death of seabirds, sea turtles,…

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The Amazon Literary Partnership opens for 2026 grant applications

Stuart Mitchell

TheAmazon Literary Partnership (ALP) is back for its seventh year to provide grants to literary organisations that inspire and champion writers across the UK and Republic of Ireland. In 2025, the ALP supported a record 38 literary groups across the UK and Republic of Ireland. Beneficiaries included organisations that support writers of all ages and stages, such as those dedicated to building confidence through creativity, amplifying underrepresented voices, and inspiring communities through the written word. The Amazon Literary Partnership is now open and invites applications from all non-profit literary organisations…

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Stamp Out Poverty Unveils Provocative Film Spotlighting The Highly Polluting, Undertaxed Premium Aviation Sector

Stuart Mitchell

Stamp Out Poverty, a non-profit organisation that campaigns to raise money to fight global poverty and climate change today unveils a provocative film that shines a light on the highly polluting, undertaxed sector of premium aviation, in particular private jets. The goal of the short film and of the campaigns conducted by Stamp Out Poverty in recent months is to secure political buy-in and public legitimacy for global solidarity levies on premium aviation.  It is hoped that the film will help pave the way for an announcement at COP30 later…

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Marketer confidence drops 11 points as lasting economic instability drives shift in consumer priorities

Stuart Mitchell

WARC has unveiled The Marketer’s Toolkit 2026, revealing five critical trends set to disrupt global marketing practices and reshape brand strategies in the year ahead. From the vanishing middle market and the creator investment gamble to the great escape, AI-driven zero-click journeys and shifting consumer milestones, the report provides marketers with essential insights to transform these disruptions into opportunities for growth.   The trend identification for the report, now in its 15th year, is based on WARC’s proprietary GEISTE methodology which focuses on the broad macro trends across government, economy, industry, society, technology, and environment. It further incorporates a global…

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RSPCA cautiously welcomes first-ever UK Govt strategy to phase out animal testing

Stuart Mitchell

The RSPCA has cautiously welcomed the UK Government’s first-ever strategy for replacing the use of animals in research and testing as a “significant step forward” for science and for animal welfare.  But now the charity has urged Ministers to ensure delivery of the proposed actions in the plan, which, if successful, could help reduce and replace the use of thousands of animals in harmful experiments each year in the UK. The new plan – ‘Replacing animals in science: a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods’ – includes…

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