1. U.S. retailers scramble to crack the code on livestream shopping events: Amid the pandemic-fueled rise in online commerce, retailers are giving livestream shopping a more serious look in the U.S., along with other innovative tools like shoppable features on social media apps, which have become increasingly valuable, as retailers aim to connect virtually with their customers who are stuck at home and glued to their phones and tablets. – Read More on CNBC

2. Japan’s clothing industry emits 95 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, estimate shows: About 5 million tons of carbon dioxide came from the burning of unsold clothes and energy used for laundry, while a total of about 510,000 tons of clothes were disposed of in Japan last year without being recycled or reused, according to the ministry. – Read More on Japan Times

3. Luxury Retailers Report Signs of Recovery: “The affluent consumers that these brands depend upon have done well financially through the pandemic, so they still have money to spend and because they were not traveling, they were able to indulge some of the travel savings into luxury goods.” – Read More on LA Business Journal

4. To engineer virality, brands are making their own mystery boxes: Mystery box products have largely migrated to the U.S. from China, where the phenomenon ballooned into a multi-billion-dollar business over the last few years. One of several data points attesting to the success of mystery boxes in China: in 2018, 300,000 people bought blind box toys on the resale site Xianyu. – Read More on Modern Retail

5. Investment Crowdfunding: Is Buying $100 in Equity in Your Favorite Shoe Brand Worth It? Republic’s model resembles that of the popular entrepreneurial crowdfunding site Kickstarter, but instead of buying a product on spec, users are scooping up a very small share of a company itself. – Read More on the WSJ