This week we were the lucky recipients of a comfy pair of socks. Not your standard postal delivery! Brands2Life Global partner Adel & Link is encouraging everyone to put their feet up to hear all about their latest trends. Not least as that’s where they have put their trends – with eight icons for eight exciting predictions. Having spent the past few months researching, questioning, designing and collecting the trends that are the most gripping, sustainable and sometimes even mind-boggling, see below for the ones that are ahead of the curve.

#1: Cool Coffee

In future, used coffee grounds will get a second life. They’ll be turned into cups, furniture, shoes – and maybe even entire buildings. The last sip is only the beginning. #secondlifeforcoffee

#2: Bye-bye, Mr. ASAP

Employees have had enough of being stressed out and employers will have to adapt if they don’t want to miss out on talented staff. Work life balance and new work concepts will take over the workplace. #byebyeasap

#3: Smart Dust

It’s only a matter of time until we’re surrounded by tiny computers the size of dust particles. They’ll be able to capture everything around us: light, temperature, vibration, magnetism, chemical compounds. And they are barely visible to the human eye. An opportunity or threat? #smartisintheair

#4: Green Business

More and more consumers are demanding sustainability. Nobody can afford to remain silent on the issue anymore: even large corporations will have to go green if they want to keep up.  #greenisin

#5: Fake me Deep

Any child can manipulate photos nowadays, that’s no surprise to anyone. But what about videos? Software capable of detecting fakes is improving daily, but so are the fakes themselves. What will we be able to rely on in the future? #deepfakeface

#6: Digital Farming

Digitisation is making farmers’ everyday lives easier. Robots are already milking cows, high-resolution satellite imagery helps with crop control and sensors can assess the condition of soil. And these developments may even help the environment. #farmvilleisreal 

#7: Progressive Province

While cities are bursting at the seams, more and more people are going rural, starting communities and finding happiness in the countryside. There, they’ll finally have time to take a breather – thanks to flexible and remote working. #provinceforpresident 

#8: Into the woods 

Forests are in a constant state of flux – and they’re in great danger. Fires and droughts are threatening their existence. But what does the forest of the future look like? Digital, networked, genetically optimised? Will we move into the woods, or will the woods come to us? Will we soon build tree houses in city parks and plant micro-forests on every roundabout? #woodsoftomorrow