Tag: launches

Coronavirus, Unicef helps Italy and launches a fundraiser – Italian Cuisine

Coronavirus: for the first time UNICEF intervenes in Italy by sending health materials and launches a fundraiser

The health crisis caused by the spread of coronavirus pushed theUNICEF to send aid to Italy exceptionally, in particular: surgical masks, surgical and test gloves, protective suits and goggles, masks, gowns and thermometers. In support of the Italian government, of the extraordinary commissioner for the coronavirus emergency Domenico Arcuri, and of the Civil Protection, the health structures most in need of health materials will be identified to counter and contain the spread of Covid-19.

"This represents a first concrete aid from UNICEF – to be followed by others – for health workers working on the front lines in our country," said the President of UNICEF Italy Francesco Samengo. «But our commitment will also continue with other initiatives and today with the launch of a campaign fundraiser that will see us committed to dealing with this emergency in the coming months. It is already possible today to make one donation through the website. It is a race against time, we ask everyone to donate. Only together can we do it .

UNICEF's action is aimed at all vulnerable families and children in many countries of the world and in Italy affected by this pandemic. Since late January, we have worked in many areas:

In China: UNICEF has so far delivered thousands of N95 masks, surgical masks, protective suits, gowns, protective goggles, surgical and test gloves, sample collection kits, thermometers to the Chinese government.

In Malaysia and RDP of Laos, UNICEF provided essential personal protective equipment, other medical aids to support the health system response and handwashing aids.

In Eastern Asia and the Pacific over 80 million people reached by UNICEF with contagion prevention aid and messages.

In Southern Asiaso far, 36 million people have been reached by UNICEF with key messages on prevention using various social platforms.

In afghanistan: UNICEF is supporting hospitals in 5 regions on COVID-19, including through training of health personnel and has developed key messages on hygiene and health.

· In the Philippines, UNICEF has provided 20 hospital triage tents to the government.

In Algeria, Bhutan, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine and Venezuela UNICEF is sending personal protective equipment worth nearly one million dollars.

McDonald’s Austria launches the sandwich «for real mobsters. And it's controversy – Italian Cuisine

The company has chosen a slogan that uses a play on words between the verb "mampfen", eating voraciously, and the noun "mafiosi". And that sparked controversy

He wanted to be fun word pun, but the effect that the advertising of the new sandwich Beautiful Italy has come up on customers could not be further from what the company had hoped to achieve.

The fact

To launch the product dedicated toItalian Summer, McDonald's Austria chose the slogan Für echte Mampfiosi, which stands out on the billboards, next to the photo of the sandwich, from the beginning of July. Mampfen, in German, means "to eat voraciously": mampfiosi is a neologism coined for the occasion, and plays with this verb and the term "mafia". The writing could be translated "for true greedy ones", but, inevitably, also «For real mobsters. And, as reported by some Italians living in Austria, the campaign was also anticipated by a notification, sent to those who downloaded the McDonald's app, with the words: "Hey mafioso. Try our House Sandwich. Beautiful Italy".

Social networks

On the company's official Facebook page, an Italian girl reported the gaffe: "I saw your" mampfiosi "ad and I am really shocked. I also work in marketing and I understand that you have to be creative, but this advertising is not up to your level, because discriminating, offensive and simply not fun. And again: "The mafia kills every day, terrorizes people, exploits their poverty, enslaves them. There is nothing to laugh about the mafia . McDonald's responded by explaining: "We regret that you did not like our Italian summer campaign, we didn't want to offend anyone. The campaign does not aim to discriminate or diminish other nations in any way, if anything it should highlight the love for Italy. Unfortunately it does not seem to have worked, we apologize again .

Advertisers

According to the Italian ADCI Art Directors Club, the association that brings together Italian advertisers, it is disconcerting "that a company like McDonald's, always very attentive to communication and investing millions of euros on social responsibility, in a historic moment when all big companies are campaigning on inclusiveness, can come out with an ad like this. Playing on stereotypes and discrimination to perhaps capture a little more attention, albeit locally, in terms of communication for a global brand such as McDonald's is, I think, a huge mistake ". And again: "Maybe McDonald's with this campaign will sell, perhaps, some more sandwiches in Austria, but I'm pretty sure that it will be heavily penalized in Italy and elsewhere, without calculating the reputational damage for the brand".

Politics

Even the deputy premier Matteo Salvini felt offended, and with a tweet he contributed to the controversy, but wrongly country: "Panino" Italian Summer "in Germany: "For true MAFIOSI" (word game with "mampfen" = sbafare …). Italians all mafiosi? How sad … We have regained pride and dignity, no return back! .

The generalizations are bad: when they are made and when they are suffered.

An American startup launches edible straws with algae – Italian Cuisine

An American startup, Loliware, launches the straw of the future, an innovative, ecological and above all edible product made with algae

The disposable use of plastic straws and their damage in environmental terms have become a topic of global interest, so much so that some countries and cities have not only banned their use in restaurants and bars but are also adopting eco-friendly alternatives. Also in the United States, where according to the Plastic Pollution Coalition more than 500 million disposable straws are consumed a day, something is moving, between proposed laws and the promotion or launch of straws made with sustainable materials such as steel or bamboo. However, one of the recent and most interesting innovations comes from an American startup, the LOLIWARE, which launched those promise to be the cnests of the future.

An eco-friendly straw to eat

LOLIWARE, a New York startup whose team includes industrial designers and scientific experts in the food and sustainability sectors, is the first company in the world to have patented a straw that is not only ecological but also edible. This product, similar in appearance to the usual plastic straws, is in fact 100% plastic-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, GMO-free but above all it is based on algae. This vegetable ingredient, in fact, besides being a super food, is a natural regenerative resource capable of capturing CO2, renewable and sustainable. The LOLIWARE has also designed these innovative canes so that they have the same functionality that is expected from a plastic straw, that is a 24-hour duration in a beverage and a generic maximum duration of 24 months.

The green mission of LOLIWARE

As we have seen, the environmental impact of using straws in the world is a very serious problem, and alarming numbers prove it; every day in the world one billion plastic straws are used, and most of them end up in the oceans, with disastrous consequences for animals, but also for the environment. The plastic materials used daily, which take hundreds of years to decompose, represent 70% of the polluting waste in the oceans. The objective of LOLIWARE is to stem the problem, with a unique and alternative product that is "ipercompostabile", Or capable of rapidly disintegrating without any consequences for the ecosystem of the seas and oceans and for the environment in general. The company said it intends to produce 30 billion straws by 2020, hoping one day to replace the 500 million plastic straws that are used and discarded every day in the United States, especially in places with a high concentration of waste such as stadiums, fast food and cafeterias. Currently their straws can be pre-ordered on Kickstarter and Indiegogo crowdfunding sites, but we expect and hope that they will soon be on the market, revolutionizing our bad habits of using non-recyclable plastics.

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