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Since President Donald Trump unleashed an onslaught of import taxes on countries around the world, the word tariff has entered the collective vocabulary, and with it reciprocal tariffs, retaliatory tariffs, compound tariffs, and most-favored nation tariffs. But here’s one you may not have heard before, even though it’s been around for decades: the pink tariff. Pink tariffs add a roughly 3% U.S. tax onto the price of women’s clothing compared to the same products made for men, according to CNN. How do pink tariffs work? Research shows that tariffs don’t affect everyone equally. In 2018, a U.S. International Trade Commission study found that women pay more than men for gendered product categories like clothing and shoes, as reported by Politico. That’s because the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which creates U.S. tariff rates on U.S. imports, classifies footwear and apparel by gender, per CNN. It is very strange and hugely inappropriate that the U.S. government should be having differential tax rates that attack women more than men for essentially the same things, Ed Gresser, vice president and director for trade and global markets at the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), told Politico. For example, Gresser looked at tariff rates for womens clothing in 2022 and found they were 16.7% higher than men’s, at 13.6%. How will Trumps trade war affect pink tariffs? Notably, Trump’s disruption of tariff policy does not extend to pink tariffs, which are being left in place. As women’s clothing will continue to be taxed at a higher rate than men’s, the tariffs Trump is placing on China and potentially other countries could hit female consumers in the U.S. harder than their male counterparts. Women in the U.S. were already paying “a kind of gender surcharge of at least $2 billion a year,” according to the PPI. Add on Trump’s tariffs, and that number will likely go up. For now, women will need to wait and see by how much. Although Trump has currently paused tariffs on all countries for 90 daysexcept China, which now faces a whopping 145% tax on imports to the U.S.many companies aren’t waiting to see the effects; theyre increasing their prices and passing those costs on to consumers. Its now common to see tariff surcharges on company invoices and websites.
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E-Commerce
The torches designed for Milano Cortina 2026, next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Italy, were made in service of the flame. Named Essential, the reusable, ultra-minimalist torch has a flared, open-top design meant to show viewers how the flame is generated because what’s important isn’t the torch, but the flame, Italian architect and engineer Carlo Ratti tells Fast Company. The design is meant to showcase the flame in motion. The open-top design is crucial to how the flame comes to life, explains Ratti, who designed the torch with his eponymous firm, Studio Carlo Ratti Associati. The torches were developed by Eni and Versalis, both official supporters of the Games, and the Italian manufacturer Cavagna Group engineered their production. Each torch has an air intake near the upper cone that allows oxygen to mix with bio-gas, generating a warmer, more natural yellow flameone that aligns with the Olympic spirit far better than the cold, blue flame of many torches, he says, adding that it was tested in wind tunnels and real-time trials. When the torch is in motion, that same openness helps produce what we call the ‘flag flame,’ a dynamic, horizontal flame that trails behind the torchbearer while running, Ratti says. [Photo: Courtesy of Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics] The 2026 Games bills itself as the most widespread ever, since it’s the first Olympic Winter Games to be named for two cities, Milan and Cortina, and will be held across multiple regions in northern Italy. That’s a geographically big Olympics, but the design of the Essential torches communicates an opposite message of minimalism, of doing more with less. The torches are lightweight, about 2 pounds each without their fuel canisters, which can be refilled and reused as many as 10 times. That reduces the overall number of torches that need to be produced for the 63-day Olympic Torch Relay, which begins this November 26, ahead of the Opening Ceremony on February 6, 2026. The torches’ burners run on fuel made from renewable materials like cooking oil, and they’re made with recycled aluminum and brass alloy coated with a reflective, iridescent finish in two huesa turquoise blue for the Olympic Games and a lustrous bronze for the Paralympics. [Photo: Courtesy of Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics] The accoutrements of the modern Olympic Games give host cities the chance to show off their culture, industries, and style. That’s a unique opportunity to showcase a state’s heritage on a global stage, such as the Paris 2024 medals, which included pieces of the Eiffel Tower. But it also puts a magnifying glass on design mishapssuch as those same medals having to be replaced due to deterioration. For northern Italy, the Games are a chance to show off Milan’s status as a world leader in design. The torches were unveiled at both the Triennale di Milano, an art and design museum in Milan, and the Italian Pavilion in Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan. Raffaella Pani, director of brand, identity, and the “Look of the Games” for Milano Cortina 2026, says the torches are named Essential because they make the most of the bare minimum, allowing the flame to steal the show. This same minimalist approach is setting the stage for the rest of the Games’s aesthetics. If we consider Italian design, in line with our Italian spirit and wanting our brand to be vibrant, dynamic, and contemporary, we can expect future design elements, such as medals and the podium, to also reflect this aspect, she says.
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E-Commerce
Barclays Center in Brooklyn is abuzz as the Brooklyn Netss Jalen Wilson catches the ball, readies himself, and releases a contested three. The ball arcs high above the Knicks defenders outstretched arms and swishes through the net. As the stadium erupts, Bryan Velazquez throws a fist in the air. Even though he is blind, he knows that his team just scored. He felt it on his fingertips.Velazquez, who works as an outreach coordinator at Omnium Circus, is using a new kind of haptic device that translates live game action into vibrations. Developed by Seattle-based startup OneCourt, the laptop-size device consists of a silicone relief map displaying a basketball court with the Brooklyn Nets logo at the center, and comes with hundreds of motors that vibrate to indicate the position of the ball on the court.People who are blind or low vision can lay their hands flat on the device and feel the ball move back and forth, while an earpiece provides live updates on the score and various play outcomes like shot made, shot missed, out of bounds, or foul.[Photo: BSE Global]Every major sports league tracks the position of its players and the ball in real time using advanced optical and sensor-based systems like Hawk-Eye. OneCourts technology taps into that data over 5G and translates it into trackable vibrations that move across the surface of the device.These vibrationsthink of as them as auditory pixelsvary based on the type of play unfolding on the court. When a player shoots, the corresponding location of the shot on the tablet vibrates more strongly. If the player scores, the motors underneath the hoop pulse vividly. If the player misses, the motors sigh one long, seemingly disappointed vibration. I really hope a lot of sports franchises roll this out, says Velazquez, who was invited to give tangible feedback about his time in the arena by the nonprofit organization called Visions.[Photo: BSE Global]An untapped marketHistorically, watching sports has been a visual affair. You follow athletes around a racetrack. You watch a tennis ball fly across the court. But an estimated six million Americans today live with low visiona chronic visual impairment that cannot be corrected with glasses, contacts, or medical treatments. One million Americans are legally blind. It is an untapped market, says Jorge Hernandez, senior technology manager at the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, who went blind at age 20.Hernandez, like several other blind or low-vision people interviewed for this article, usually listens to sports through the live radio broadcast, but he says haptic devices like OneCourts are one more tool in the toolbox that will make the world more accessible to people with disabilities. We are normal individuals that live a normal life, and if you make [sports] accessible to us, guess what, we will come.In the U.S., ADA standards stipulate that public accommodations like stadiums and theaters must ensure that people with disabilities receive effective communication through auxiliary aids or services like braille, sign language interpreters, and assistive listening devices.But according to Matthew Dietz, an expert on accessibility law from Nova Southeastern University, these standards can only evolve at the speed of technological innovation. If sighted people see the ball around the field or a tennis court, so should the Blind, he said in an email. But then again, I would still prefer Phil Rizzuto calling the game.[Photo: BSE Global]The tipping point of innovationOneCourt is part of a growing number of startups innovating in the space. Others include the Dublin-based Field of Vision, and the French startup Touch2See. The latter has developed a tablet featuring a tactile layout of a soccer field. A moving cursor represents the position of the ball and guides your fingers on the fielda bit like an Ouija board. The Touch2See device also vibrates to signal when players are passing, shooting, or dunking. Both Touch2See and OneCourt were inspired by a viral videopotentially the same oneof a fan at a soccer match guiding the hands of their blind friend over the cardboard model of the pitch.Many of these companies are currently competing for big contracts, suggesting a growing interest from stadiums and leagues to provide accessible experiences for their fans. The Touch2See tablet made its international debut at the Paris Olympics and has since become available at the Cagliari Calcio club in Italy, FC Porto in Portugal, and many others. The company is eyeing FIFA 2026 next. Football [soccer] is what we want to master, Touch2Sees sales director, John Brimacombe, told me in an interview last year.In the meantime, OneCourts technology is quickly gaining ground in the U.S. The startups haptic devices first became available at a Portland Trailblazers game in 2024. They have since become available at Sacramento Kings games and Phoenix Suns home games.Ticketmaster has sponsored every partnership including at Barclays. Our unique role in this partnership has helped build a model to quickly scale purposeful innovations from coast-to-coast, says Marla Ostroff, managing director at Ticketmaster North America. Its a key step toward a more inclusive future.Beond basketballThe Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center are the first East Coast sports team and arena to provide so-called tactile broadcasting at home games, for free. Having the ability for all different kinds of fans to experience the game is really meaningful for me, and this technology fit in with that perfectly, says Keia Cole, chief digital officer at BSE, the company that owns the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Liberty, and Barclays Center.The Nets piloted the devices at the end of the NBA season, but Cole says they are planning to bring them back next season. For now, they are only available at NBA games, but they are hoping to expand to New York Liberty games, as well. WNBA uses a different kind of tracking system that OneCourt isnt currently geared up for, but OneCourts COO, Antyush Bollini, says that the company started with the technology that is more widely available (Hawk-Eye) and ultimately plans on expanding to all levels of sport. Its only a matter of time before someday, its in Collegiate, and its in Little League games, and its in your rec center.And its not just basketball. OneCourt has already tested its haptic devices at tennis games, baseball, and American football matches. French2See works with soccer, basketball, rugby, and various Paralympic sports like goalball and wheelchair rugby. Both OneCourt and Touch2See tablets come with a peel-off, interchangeable surface that enables teams to seamlessly switch between different sports.According to OneCourts CEO, Jerred Mace, any sport that is less about style (like martial arts) and more about the athletes location (like in swimming or racing) could be a fit. We definitely have ambitions to get into every stadium across different sports, whether thats MBA, WMBA, NFL, NHL, or tennis, he says. At the end of the day, we view this as a new standard in accessibility.Mace came up with the idea for OneCourt while at the University of Washington. As a child, he experienced such far-sightedness that his doctor thought he wouldnt be able to drive. His vision ended up improving through surgeries, but the 24-year-old still remembers being judged for his looks and the goggles he had to wear. His experience, combined with a history of disability in his family, has helped him gain deep understanding for people with disabilities.Down the line, Mace wants everyone to be able to experience sportsincluding fans who want to follow a game from the comfort of their own home. Velazquez, one of the blind fans who experienced the device at the Nets game last week, told me he wouldnt necessarily use it at home. I like [the device] for the live experience, he says. But he was noticeably thrilled at the prospect of the technology being made available at more stadiums. His hand shot up when asked if he wanted to speak to a reporter, and his first impressions were summarized by a very spirited amazing!Mike Cush, chief program officer at Visions, was equally bullish. Im not easily impressed by technology, he told me after trialing the device at Barclays. But this is a game changer.
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