Li Edelkoort Thinks Coronavirus Will Change Consumer Behavior Forever

"This virus will slow everything down," trend forecaster Lidewij "Li" Edelkoort proclaimed of COVID-19 during this year’s Design Indaba conference in Cape Town, where she spoke earlier this month. The vast numbers of people in quarantine will break global chains of production and consumption, fundamentally changing the market for all kinds of products, she explained. She lamented the loss of life and the toll yet to come, but she also offered a note of hope that this shift will ultimately lead us to a more humane and less ecologically damaging reality on the other side.