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Since Pantone began naming its Color of the Year in 2000, weve seen two flavors of both brown and yellow, three variations of purple, blue, and turquoise, and four distinct takes on orange. But for the first time ever, Pantones color is essentially a non-color. Or you could call it every color. Pantones 2026 Color of the Year is a white. In Pantone language, thats code 11-4201aka Cloud Dancer. Pantonewhich operates somewhere between a trend forecaster and social psychologistargues that Cloud Dancer is part of a great cultural reboot. In the era of AI, everything feels like its changing on a daily basis, and the overstimulation of the internet is only increasing as we go. Cloud Dancer is a liminal space as we enter an unforeseeable new era. Savoring the physical world, its intentionally closer to the white of a piece of paper than an impossibly glowing, AI prompt box. [Photo: Pantone] Were trying to frame this [era] in a more positive way, looking at this as a transitional time, because it really is, says Laurie Pressman, VP at the Pantone Color Institute, who notes the color is a blank slate opening the door to creativity and innovation. The word “cloud” refers to not just Cloud Dancer’s color, but also its real world texture. Often presented in voluminous textiles, on the runway and in living rooms, its literally meant to nod to a puffy cloud in the sky. Its an almost synaesthetic sensation thats a counterpoint to the other cloud: dead, unseen data centers answering our intangible queries. [Image: Pantone] Take the psychology for what you will. Functionally, though, Cloud Dancer also serves a practical purpose within design aesthetics. Pressman points out that its timeless and genderless, and that it works blown out all on its own or with a wider array of colors beside it. On one hand, of course thats all true! Its white! On the other, Cloud Dancer is a very specific white: One that balances warm and cool tones in equal measure. (Note: in many real world examples that Pantone shared, Cloud Dancer appears less gray than it does on the swatch.) That means Cloud Dancer can fit with about any color palette you toss at it. Its not a white that will leave you squinting, guessing, and regretting. Its visual tofu, there to absorb the colors around it. [Photo: Joybird/courtesy Pantone] In an internet-driven cultural ticker where all tastes live side-by-side at once, and no single color is really in or out anymore for all that long, Cloud Dancer serves as a universal binder. Its the mortar for wider color expression, as effective on a blinding sneaker collab as a tranquil bedroom set. But is white even a color? Critics may complain that, of all colors, Pantone chose white. Its a non-color. Is that a cop out? You might also have noticed some thematic overlap with the quiet luxury movement. Peaking some time circa 2023, fashion brands embraced neutrals, like Cloud Dancer and Pantones previous color of the year, Mocha Mousse, equating simplicity with style. [Photo: Pantone] When I point this out, Pressman nods along, noting that its synergy with quiet luxury was a point of discussion on the team. The difference, she says, is not so much the use of such a white, but the intent underlying it. Quiet luxury masked affluence behind understated hues. (Or, perhaps you might say it performatively masked affluenceoffering a wink and nod to those in the know.) Instead, Pressman argues that Cloud Dancer is more about creating a tabula rasa in an era of uncertainty. Indeed, the white has been ontrend on runwaysbut not in some subdued apologetic way. From Jennifer Lawrences Dior at the Governors Ball, to Rosalía claiming white like a cleansing counterpoint to Charlie XCXs Brat green, its been used as a celebratory statement. A new collaboration between Moncler and Jil Sander makes a strong case for winter white, according to W. [Photo: 3M/courtesy Pantone] No doubt it helps that white has long been a shortcut, like black, to casually bolstered taste. We see that in how white button-downs and court shoes (along with every iteration of low white sneaker) has become a staple in wardrobes for years. Whiteand specifically puffy, textured bouclérefuses to leave high end living rooms. [Photo: Hasbro/courtesy Pantone] Likewise, Pantone is announcing new collabs with both Post-it and Play-Doh that feel like a cheat code to elevating taste. Each respective product will be offered in Cloud Dancer. Seeing these colorful, iconic products stripped of their hues is actually arresting. They get a sudden modernist makeover, feeling at-home next to a foam board architecture model. (Huh, maybe white is a color after all!) I think the white works in these creative contexts because its being presented as a blank construction material, offering an invitation to craft in an era of automation. The color name . . . speaks to this whole feeling of gazing into the clouds, says Pressman, and wondering what are the possibilities of what’s out there?
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E-Commerce
Headlines about a shredded cheese recall affecting more than a quarter of a million cases of various products have been making the rounds for the last few days, understandably alarming consumers. Yet the recall itself is not new, despite only being widely publicized at this time. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? Back in early October, a company called Great Lakes Cheese Co of Hiram, Ohio, reportedly issued a large-scale recall that impacted a range of shredded cheese products. The recall was initiated after Great Lakes Cheese was informed by one of its suppliers that some of its “Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella” may have been contaminated with a foreign materialin this case, metal fragments. The consumption of metal fragments could obviously cause internal injuries to anyone eating the cheese products, posing a health risk. In response to an inquiry from Fast Company, Great Lakes Cheese said that it immediately identified the affected “raw material” at its facilities back in October, and that it instructed retailers to remove any affected products from store shelves. Yet despite this recall happening in October, the information wasn’t widely shared with the public at the time and is only now coming into sharp focus and garnering media attention. That’s because of an enforcement report by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which was published on the agency’s website this month. What has the FDA said? On December 2, the FDA published an enforcement report on the October 3 shredded cheese recall. In that report, the agency announced that it was classifying the voluntary recall as a Class II recall and listed the recall as Ongoing. The FDA classifies recalls into three categories. Per the FDA: Class I: a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death. Class II: a situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote. Class III: a situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product is not likely to cause adverse health consequences. The FDAs classification of the Great Lakes Cheese as a Class II means that while consumption of the recalled cheese is unlikely to have serious adverse health consequences, it can cause temporary injury or health consequences that are medically reversible. The status of the recall as ongoing suggests that the recall is currently in progress. It’s not unusual for the FDA to issue a classification of a recall months after the recall took place. What has Great Lakes Cheese Co said? In the wake of the media attention sparked by the FDAs enforcement report, Great Lakes Cheese publicly addressed the recall on Wednesday. In a statement provided to Fast Company, the cheese producer confirmed that in early October, it had been notified by a supplier of possible foreign material contamination in some of its products. The company then said that it took immediate action. We instructed retailers to remove the products from store shelves after the announcement in October, the company stated. When we were confident all recalled products had been removed from store shelves, we distributed new product that did not have the potential to contain foreign material and was safe. Great Lakes Cheese says that all recalled products have been removed from markets and that any of its products currently on store shelves are not products associated with the October recall. The company also addressed the ongoing status listed in the FDAs December enforcement report: “While the status of the recall is marked as ongoing in the enforcement report, our records show all product has been fully removed from store shelves. What products are included in the recall? The FDAs enforcement report provides a list of impacted products. In total, there are 263,575 cases of cheese products included in the October recall. As Taste of Home notes, those products have sell-by dates ranging from January to March 2026, meaning consumers could still have the items in their possession. You can find a list of the exact recalled products on the FDA’s enforcement report. Brands on that list include: Always Save Borden Brookshires Cache Valley Creamery Chestnut Hill Coburn Farms Econo Food Club Food Lion Freedoms Choice Gold Rush Creamery Good & Gather Great Lakes Cheese Great Value Happy Farms by Aldi H-E-B Hill Country Fare Know & Love Laura Lynn Lucerne Dairy Farms Nu Farm Publix Schnucks Simply Go Sprouts Farmers Market Stater Bros. Markets Sunnyside Farms Where were the recalled products sold? The recalled products were sold at stores in 31 states and Puerto Rico. Stores where the recalled products were sold include major retailers like Aldi, H-E-B, Target, and Walmart, as well as numerous grocery stores. The states and territories the cheese products were sold in include: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NM, NV, NY, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, and Puerto Rico. What should I do if I have the recalled products? If youve bought any cheese products, you should check your refrigerator to see if the recalled products remain in your possession. If you have them, you should not consume them. Any households with any of the affected items from October in their refrigerators or freezers should discard the product or return it to the store where it was purchased for a refund, Great Lakes Cheeses statement says.
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E-Commerce
Artificial intelligence is radically changing how healthcare providers tackle vision loss, with tools that can be used from diagnosis to treatment and even follow-up care. One such example is Visilant, which uses smartphone imaging, telemedicine, and AI to screen, diagnose, and monitor patients for vision care. And with this technology, more of the one billion-plus patients who live with vision loss can be treated, Jordan Shuff, executive director and founder of Visilant, said at last months World Changing Ideas Summit, cohosted by Fast Company and Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. But in this race to expand care, its also important to have guardrails in place. To ensure that AI doesnt diagnose in a vacuum, there are some simple checks incorporated in the process so that a doctor can be pulled in to offer expertise when necessary, Shuff said. We design these [tools] thinking about what is the workflow, who are other people involved, what is all the data involved, and how can we build guardrails so it works alongside a human,” Shuff said. EVOLUTION OF TOOLS, THINKING The past decade has seen huge improvements in tools used in healthcare settings, while some of the thinking around providing a broader continuum of care to patients has also evolved, said Gabriel Jones, cofounder and CEO of Proprio, a medical tech company. We’re very fortunate to have these tools that enable automation, where that’s the right answer, really to drive better outcomes,” Jones said. AI can help to be predictive with careit might help to avoid surgeries in the first place, for examplewhile its use in the operating room may actually redefine what an outcome is, according to Jones. The implications for how we treat, who we treat, the types of procedures and pathologies we can addresslet your mind go, because the pie is way bigger than whatever it looks like today, he added. And that’s why it’s a really exciting moment.
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E-Commerce
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