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Tag: Stella McCartney

  • Paramount’s Pam Kaufman calls it a day

    Paramount’s Pam Kaufman calls it a day

    MUMBAI: Pam Kaufman, the executive who turned a “yellow sea sponge” into a global merchandising juggernaut, has announced her departure from Paramount after more than two decades with the entertainment giant.

     Kaufman, who served as chief executive of international markets and global consumer products, will leave at the end of the year, though she plans to stay on as a consultant. Her exit comes as David Ellison and Jeff Shell take the reins of the newly restructured media company.

    During her tenure,  Kaufman transformed Paramount’s consumer products division into a $7bn retail business. She oversaw the expansion of iconic franchises including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Paw Patrol across more than 170 international markets. Under her watch, the company struck lucrative partnerships with brands from Stella McCartney to Supreme, many of which sold out within minutes of launch.

    The executive, who began her career at Nickelodeon in the 1990s, became the network’s first chief marketing officer in 2008. She launched over 20 television programmes and helped the company achieve $1bn in revenue. Her marketing prowess was perhaps best demonstrated with the Kids’ Choice Awards, where she nearly tripled voter participation.

    Kaufman’s international expansion efforts included launching Nickelodeon-themed resorts in Mexico and the United States, whilst the gaming division she oversaw produced hits like Star Trek Fleet Command, which has racked up 20m downloads.

    “We built billion-dollar franchises,” Kaufman wrote in her farewell post on LinkedIn. “We turned a yellow sea sponge into a global icon.”

    The departure marks the end of an era for Paramount, which has been grappling with the rapid shift to streaming whilst trying to maintain its traditional television and film businesses. Kaufman played a crucial role in supporting the international rollout of Paramount+ and Pluto TV.

    Beyond Paramount, Kaufman sits on the boards of Lindblad Expeditions, Stella McCartney, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. She will remain in these roles.

    “I’ve truly had the slime of my life,” she quipped, referencing Nickelodeon’s trademark green goo, “in the ‘in between’ with all of you.”

     

  • adidas by Stella McCartney debuts performance apparel prototypes in continued push to create a more sustainable future for sport

    adidas by Stella McCartney debuts performance apparel prototypes in continued push to create a more sustainable future for sport

    MUMBAI: Today adidas makes strides in the continued drive to solve the problem of product waste with the introduction of two new apparel innovations within adidas by Stella McCartney – the first 100% recyclable hoodie created from garment waste with NuCycl™ fiber by Evrnu and a tennis dress created with Microsilk™ and cellulose blended yarn.

    With the world producing an estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste every year1, adidas by Stella McCartney and partners are helping turn this problem into a more sustainable design solution. The new eco-conscious products were developed as part of adidas’ open source approach to creation in collaboration with, Evrnu and Bolt Threads:

    adidas by Stella McCartney Infinite Hoodie was created with advanced textile innovations company Evrnu. The performance garment signals a move towards a reality where products can be completely recycled and repurposed. Using NuCycl™ by Evrnu technology, the Infinite Hoodie is made from 60% NuCycl™ and 40% organic cotton that has been diverted from landfills and can be reused again and again to be remade into high-performance product.

    adidas by Stella McCartney Biofabric Tennis Dress is a prototype concept incubated in partnership with Bolt Threads, a company that specialises in bioengineered sustainable materials and fibres. The tennis dress is the first of its kind, made with cellulose blended yarn and Microsilk™, a protein-based material that is made with renewable ingredients, like water, sugar, and yeast and has the ability to fully biodegrade at the end of its life.

    The inspiration behind the products is simple, create product that not only performs for the athlete, but also for the world at large. To realise this ambition, adidas is exploring ways to minimise waste via three focus areas:

    Made with Repurposed Plastic targets one of the biggest challenges facing the brand today – reducing the dependency on virgin use plastics and CO2 emissions associated with production. The first solution to this problem was seen in 2015 with the launch of the first adidas x Parley prototype shoe, created from upcycled marine plastic waste and illegal deep-sea gillnets. In the four years since, adidas has built a supply chain for scale and will make 11 million pairs of shoes using Parley Ocean Plastic by the end of 2019, with the goal to use only recycled polyester in products by 2024.

    Made to be Remade is the next step, creating a completely circular loop where products won’t end up on beaches or landfills in the first place. Through closed systems, raw materials can be broken down and remade into high performance sportswear, as seen earlier this year with the launch of FUTURECRAFT.LOOP, a recyclable performance running shoe that can be returned and repurposed into another shoe, and today with the reveal of the adidas by Stella McCartney Infinite Hoodie.

    Made to Biodegrade is the future-gazing ambition to create a bionic loop where products have the capability of being completely biodegradable and return to the natural ecosystem. Using materials developed from natural resources or made from cells and proteins in a lab, as seen with the adidas by Stella McCartney Biofabric Tennis Dress concept, adidas has demonstrated the possibility to create products using materials that are made with nature, and is a step in the brand’s journey to explore innovative solutions that can, at some point, also return to nature. 

    James Carnes, Vice President of Strategy Creation at adidas, said: “Creating products with upcycled plastic waste was our first step. The next challenge is to end the concept of waste entirely. Focusing on three core areas, we will explore ways to create products that can either be fully recyclable or biodegradable.  We don’t have all the answers and we know we can’t do it alone. By collaborating with partners who share our same vision, as we’ve done with Evrnu and Bolt Threads, we can combine adidas’ sports industry expertise with specialist knowledge to bring about a waste-free world.”

    Stella McCartney, said:“Fashion is one of the most harmful industries to the environment. We can’t wait any longer to search for answers and alternatives. By creating a truly open approach to solving the problem of textile waste, we can help empower the industry at large to bring more sustainable practices into reality. With adidas by Stella McCartney we’re creating high performance products that also safeguard the future of the planet.”

    The unveiling of the Infinite Hoodie and Biofabric Tennis Dress coincide with the launch of the adidas by Stella McCartney Fall/Winter 2019 collection which features innovative fabrics, created in more sustainable ways without compromising performance of style.