As part of a new initiative to create clothes that are more environmentally and economically sustainable, the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development have teamed with Nike and NASA to ask innovators to help them revolutionize the garment industry. And some of they’re goals seem pretty ambitious—they to want create fabrics that can “self-heal.” The overall mission of “LAUNCH System Challenge 2013” though seems a bit more grounded. By seeking out new innovations and technologies, they hope to “transform the system of fabrics to one that advances equitable global economic growth, drives human prosperity and replenishes the planet's resources.” Along with trying to think of ways to make clothes more durable and more recyclable, one of the projects goals is to also create “innovative business models that are sustainable and equitable” for workers around the world … Discuss

When a college professor asked students to come up with a product that would meet an actual need instead of just contributing to an existing fad, Veronika Scott had an idea. After spending months interviewing members of the homeless community in her hometown in Colorado to understand the challenges of daily life on the street, she created the sleeping bag coat. Using fabric donated by several companies and initially funded by local donations, her coats became a sensation.

Today, the now-23-year-old’s non-profit company called The Empowerment Plan employs 10 formerly homeless women to make coats that are sent (for free) to homeless shelters around the country. One unexpected twist in her company’s sudden rise to success: The coats were evidently a hit at Aspen's fashion week. Scott is now working on a for-profit sister company that will sell the coats to help fund the non-profit efforts in the future … Discuss

A Spanish anti-abuse ad called the Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk Foundation had put together this innovative and potentially life-saving billboard that gets their point across by displaying two messages—one adults can see, and one only kids can see. It has what's called a "lenticular top layer," so anyone taller than four feet, five inches sees a picture of a little boy that reads "sometimes, child abuse is only visible to the child suffering it." But children—well, anyone shorter than four feet five inches, so mostly children—will see bruises on the child's face, with a number instructing them to call if they're being hurt ... Discuss

Doctors are grappling with a lethal new strain of gonorrhea (your great-grandparents called it "the clap") that's immune to antibiotics and can “put someone into septic shock and death in a matter of days. This is very dangerous," said Alan Christianson, who is a doctor of naturopathic medicine in Phoenix. "We need to move now before it gets out of hand.” The strain was discovered in a Japanese sex worker back in 2011, and has so far baffled scientists who are trying to treat it. If it starts to spiral out of control, doctors warn that it “might be a lot worse than AIDS” ... Discuss

Disney has announced it will no longer have products made in five of the "highest-risk countries" (Ecuador, Venezuela, Belarus, Bangladesh and Pakistan), following a factory collapse in Bangladesh that his killed more than 400 workers. In response to the tragedy, several other American companies including Wal-Mart, Gap and H&M met with labor rights groups and NGOs at meeting in Germany to discuss ways to improve working conditions in the country … Discuss