In its third annual Cultural Traction™ 2013 report, the brand development and marketing consultancy Added Value has ranked a total of 160 brands from 15 industries to measure their cultural vibrancy and define which of them better used the culture-led marketing strategies to stay more relevant to consumers. By culturally vibrant brands Added Value’s experts mean those brands that are perceived to have the most Visionary, Inspiring, Bold and Exciting (VIBE-index).

TOMS, a brand known for its philanthropy that found incarnation in the One for One policy, is launching an art-focused project Haiti Artists Collective to create new jobs in Haiti. In partnership with Haiti-based Caribbean Craft, the company commissions 30 Haitian artists aged 18-45 to develop designs for the limited edition TOMS Shoes. The individually painted footwear in both men and women styles will be available at the TOMS website and at its flagship store in the U.S. for $68.

The luxury watches brand Hublot is set to make its own contribution to the global water-saving movement that is being actively supported by many eco-minded fashion labels like Giorgio Armani, H&M and Levi’s to name a few. The brand has teamed up with the legendary electronic music band Depeche Mode to benefit the non-profit organization charity:water by raising funds to bring drinking water to the poorest countries.

WWF annually encourages people around the globe to switch off the lights from 8:30 pm for just one hour. For this year’s Earth Hour initiative, set to culminate on March 23, the international ecological organization has launched a series of programs relevant to the global effort. Along with inviting celebrities to support the initiative, WWF has unveiled a spin-off of its successful “I Will if You Will” effort and a new cross-continental “Earth Hour City Challenge” contest. There is also a standalone design project in the UK, launched by the creative environmental charity Do The Green Thing, to create posters for the upcoming event.

IKEA’s real estate branch Inter Hospitality and Marriott International Inc. have partnered to provide European tourists with more affordable accommodations. The hotel chain is launching a new economy-class hotel brand, MOXY, which will be developed in collaboration with Inter IKEA Group, the parent company of the furniture and home goods manufacturer. Surprisingly enough, the hotels of 150 to 300 rooms each won’t be equipped with the IKEA furniture, still the company has provided “novel construction techniques to keep construction costs down,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

Italian fashion giant Gucci has teamed with a roster of female celebrities to launch a new global campaign, Chime For Change, aiming to empower women across the globe. Beyoncé Knowles, Salma Hayek and Frida Giannini, Gucci’s creative director, have become the ambassadors of the new initiative, announced at the TEDxWomen luncheon yesterday, February 28. The effort is designed to inspire girls and women in different parts of the world to be bold, strong and enthusiastic about claiming their right for a better life.

H&M is contributing to the global recycling movement in a new way for the company. On February 21, the fashion retailer officially launched a new worldwide apparel-recycling initiative, which allows consumers to help save natural resources and get a little money in return. Customers can leave bags with used and unwanted clothing from any brand in the special green-and-white “Long live fashion!” containers across all H&M stores worldwide. The garments will then be recycled or reworn, depending on their condition.

Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Sergey Brin (Google) and Yuri Milner (Digital Sky Technologies) along with some other notable figures in the IT sector have joined forces to launch the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation to foster researchers in the biotech sphere. The list of founding sponsors also includes Zuckerberg’s wife Priscilla Chan, Brin’s wife and co-founder of 23andMe Anne Wojcicki as well as Art Levinson of Apple, who has been appointed the Chairman of the Foundation’s board.

The British telecom company O2 has tapped street artist Slinkachu to create three impressive artworks in order to promote the 20 Years of War Child exhibition, supported by O2. The pieces, which reflect the creator’s signature «little people» approach, are developed to raise awareness of the War Child charity’s missions and celebrate its 20th anniversary. The international charity unites artists and musicians, who contribute to the cause by raising funds to tackle problems of children living in war-torn countries.