When I wrote the Trends 2020 article in February, I certainly wasn’t expecting a Global Pandemic and that the whole world would effectively ‘close for business’. With the year starting off with a hiss and a roar with the raging Australia fires and then Covid-19, many of us are hoping the second half of 2020 will be much more relaxed and positive, with a continuation of the slower pace that we might have started during lockdown.
Over the last few months, one thing has been made clear: change is possible. Where sometimes it may have felt completely impossible, we’ve managed to adapt in more ways than one, from a complete upheaval of our normal ways of working, schooling, communicating, and just getting around day to day. We’ve never felt closer as a global community; we’ve watched numbers come together for claps for essential workers, seen occupants of apartment buildings playing music to one another, we’ve shared Anzac commemorations at the end of our driveways and put teddy bears and rainbows in our roadside windows. We’ve all contributed in little ways to keep moral high and show that we’re all in this together.
Since so much change has occurred, we’re in a state of flux as we take the best of lockdown and assess needed change in other aspects of life. So what’s in store for the rest of 2020?
1. Health prevention is key
Some say prevention is better than cure, and that's never truer when there is no cure.
Prevention is more important to people than ever before. There is more interest in supporting the immune system through food and nutrients, and maintaining wellness is at the front of the mind for many people. The role that healthy food plays in supporting good health will grow in popularity as a result.
Super Nutrition is only going to become more popular as people look for food options that offer an added boost of nutrients. Clean ingredient meal replacements will offer easy and healthy options, and trending ingredients like turmeric will appear more in healthy snack options. Plant-based, as mentioned in February, is on an even bigger trajectory for growth after Covid-19 due to an increase of interest from Millennial shoppers concerned about their environmental impact.
Top tips to get ahead of the trend:
Eating better, whole foods and meal prepping has been essential over lockdown. Don’t let this slip! Allow yourself time to explore new ingredients, and focus on plenty of plant based options. Plant-based doesn’t have to mean vegetarian or vegan, but rather increasing the amount of vegetables in your diet so that they form the largest part of each plate. As well as being great for relaxation, home cooking often means a greater nutrient intake.
2. Supplements are essential
Supplements and ingredients for immunity have shown huge growth, and with no cures available for the current situation, people have been reminded of the power of good nutrition and herbal support.
For the first time ever, our shelves became completely bare of our top immune support supplements, including vitamin C, Echinacea and elderberry. These nutrients and herbs, among others, have been used for generations for both supporting a strong immune response as well as being useful when the ills and chills got to us. Vitamin C and zinc are well known to support healthy recovery, and Elderberry and Shiitake have been shown to support a robust response to immune challenges. Interestingly, in the United Kingdom, Vitamin D was recommended by the government.
Top tips to get ahead of the trend:
Keep on top of a healthy immune system through a good diet, and supplementing where you might not be meeting your needs or when you may need some extra support. A good multi-vitamin, stomach friendly vitamin C and zinc is a great way to stay on top of your immune system needs – especially as we come into the cooler months.
3. Working from home
Collectively, we will have less tolerance for ourselves and our colleagues working through and ‘toughing out a cold’.
We’ve all become much more aware of the impact a simple virus may have on others. Our immunity etiquette has improved as we’ve learnt about how far droplets can spread from a cough or sneeze, when a mask might be suitable, and how important it is to stay home if you feel like you’re coming down with something.
Tolerance for those choosing to wear face masks will also continue to improve, with many stylish additions entering the market, as will a replacement of handshakes for elbow bumps or an ‘East Coast wave’. Contact will be less socially acceptable and respecting people’s personal space will grow.
Top tips to get ahead of the trend:
Back to business as usual? Make sure you’re wiping down your office desk area, continue to wash your hands regularly, and respect your co-workers space. Speak to your employer about the possibility of working from home one day a week or rotating your office team can also help to lessen contact but also improve work productivity.
4. Better Brands and Local Business Love
We want to support local, support family-owned, and support brands doing better for the world and who offer us a sense of transparency about their decisions.
Our desire to believe that our consumer dollar is being spent supporting a brand doing good things within our local economy is on our mind. We want to know our purchase is going to help support something bigger than the profit line of a large corporation. Buying online has and continues to increase – even the shipping fee that used to feel like a tax on our purchase now feels like it is an easy price to pay for a little convenience of having something delivered.
Certifications like B Corp, who help consumers identify brands who have had their social and environmental standards audited will increase, so too will the “buy 1 give 1” ideal as we acknowledge our own privilege and look for ways to give back in many different ways.
Small indie brands will grow, so will the importance of provenance, ethics of sourcing, and as stated in the February article, gender neutral ranges and brands who stand for equality. As a community we want better for all people, animals, and the planet – although a big task for one, our joint efforts as a collective will transform.
Top tips to get ahead of the trend:
Continue to support your local community and brands and look for businesses that are striving for better. Be prepared to spend maybe a little more to love something for longer – maybe even a lifetime. The concept to buy once and buy well is set to grow as we take more responsibility for the rubbish we create. No more broken plastic pegs after a couple of uses when there are sturdy stainless-steel ones available!
5. More self-care
A slower pace has been adopted, which is preferred by many given that the pace we were all running at was unsustainable.
With more time at home, we found enjoyment in things we might usually rely on leaving the house for. Getting creative doing our own nails, hair dyes, hair masks, and facials made for some great self-care practices that although might not have been up to salon standard, made us feel good all the same.This area will continue to grow, including not just a desire for Clean Beauty brands (as mentioned in February), but also more DIY homemade style masks.
Top tips to get ahead of the trend:
While things get back up to speed, it’s important to slow down with some self-care when we can. Make a continued effort to kick back and pamper yourself with some of our favourite clean beauty brands. Hanami vegan nail polish is a HealthPost fave, and with an endless range of Good Ingredients Approved all natural face masks to try, your skin will be in for a treat.
6. Online Learning and Entertainment
From online schooling and university lectures, to exercise classes and art courses, our use of online learning peaked and is here to stay.
Our use of online communities established their place in our hearts as an effective method for anything from art courses (with wine!) to exercise classes, to spontaneous concerts with talented musicians or DJs. These online communities not only became a way to relax and mitigate modern day stress but were welcomed as creative outlets to support our mental health. We have also utilised these online methods for seeing a practitioner like our GP or a naturopath which will increase the rate at which online health consults become the norm. Keep an eye out for growing conversation about digitising our health records and our ownership of these in a single place.
Top tips to get ahead of the trend:
Keeping up with these activities reduces the travel time, the use of cars and other resources, and is often better for the budget too. With the internet at our fingertips, the world of online learning is our oyster! Sign up for that online language course, art class, or enjoy an online exercise class from the comfort of your home. Let’s hope ‘being busy’ loses its appeal and we are able to maintain a healthier pace of life.
7. Clean Beauty
People will continue to look for clean ingredients that are better for us – and the world too.
Mentioned earlier in our February article, there’s no doubt that this trend will continue to grow. This is another trend that stems from people prioritising the planet and their own health when it comes to the ingredients used in products. People want to reduce reliance on petrochemicals – including those within skincare. They are looking for clean ingredients, and thanks to technology, we have access to amazing natural products that feel good and do what they say they’re going to do. But beauty brands can’t just stop at clean ingredients – we want to see a reduction of plastic packaging and better options used for packaging.
Top tips to get ahead of the trend:
Do an audit of your current skincare. Review your top used products and ask whether these are friendly to your skin, and the earth too. What’s their packaging like? Do they have certifications for natural and clean ingredients? While it all can be quite confusing, at HealthPost we’re on a mission to make things easier. Check out our Red List ingredients to see what you should avoid in your skincare, or shop by our Specialty features such as recyclable packaging, vegan and palm oil free. Rest assured, all our of clean beauty products meet our high standards.
8. Equity
For years there’s been talk of uneven pay gaps between men and women, racial disparity, the breakdown of gender-norms and the need all people to have the same rights, opportunity, and starting point. The conversation is changing from equality to equity, an important distinction to make if we want fairer (and better) representation of the cross-section of people who exist in our communities representing at an executive level in business, in government, or in positions of leadership in the community. With events in America recently which breaksmy heart as I watch the corruption and violence, equal rights for all people and improving the rights of those who are marginalised will grow in importance for people, no longer willing to tolerate oppression.
So, there you have it, the mid-2020 trends edit! May the rest of the year be restorative, peaceful, and gentle. May our local economy prosper, our health be optimal and may our planet thrive under our watch.