Conferences come and go, but the lessons we learn at them (sometimes) stay with us.

At the Porte conference that we told you all about a few weeks ago, for instance, Nadya Okamoto, co-founder of sustainable menstrual care brand August, had many such lessons to impart, including on how she scales the business while keeping sustainability in mind.

Previously, Okamoto told us about how she thinks about sustainability and creating products while communicating with the brand’s community. This time, we have compiled more from the Gen Z founder on keeping the business profitable and environmentally responsible.

On competing with other businesses

There are more sustainable products—whether that be menstrual cups or menstrual discs—that are coming out. But in order to be a profitable business, we have to grow at scale. We raised quite a bit of VC money. We have expectations for growth. At the end of the day, I have worked with other reusable period care brands that introduced a great product, but it wasn’t adopted because nobody knows how to use it. And we still are dealing with so much stigma on using reusables. So I think from the very beginning, it was like, ‘How do we make products that people will actually use? And how do we communicate the sustainability component so that it’s understandable?’

Keep reading here.—JS

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With consumers pulling back on spending and venture capital becoming harder to come by, several retailers and brands have filed for bankruptcy over the last few months. While some are banking on a comeback, others are likely closing up shop for good.

Bye, bye, baby: Bed Bath & Beyond’s name will continue to live on as it stores shutter, and Buy Buy Baby is meeting a similar fate. While a bankruptcy judge this week approved the sale of the retailer’s IP to fellow baby-goods retailer Dream on Me, its stores are set to close. Parent company Bed Bath & Beyond canceled an auction last week to land a buyer, and talks with brand management firm Go Global Retail to keep the store business alive “fell apart” this week, per CNBC.

Taking down the tree: After filing for bankruptcy in May with plans to close just a select number of stores, Christmas Tree Shops will liquidate all of its locations, per the Wall Street Journal. The Massachusetts-based chain, which operates 82 stores, defaulted on a $45 million bankruptcy loan after the retailer didn’t “have the time nor the money to go forward with the plan,” its lawyer said in a court hearing last month.

Keep reading here.—EC

Befitting its name, Target became one last week, when Republican attorneys general from seven states signed a letter warning that merchandise it had featured in its Pride month collection could violate child-protection laws in their states.

In the letter, dated July 5, the officials wrote that because they were “committed to enforcing our States’ child-protection and parental-rights laws,” they were objecting to LGBTQ+ Pride items, including some children’s items.

“Our concerns entail the company’s promotion and sale of potentially harmful products to minors, related potential interference with parental authority in matters of sex and gender identity,” the letter stated.

The letter was signed by attorneys general from Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and South Carolina.

Target declined to comment to CNN on the letter, and has not issued a statement in response.

In May, after Target faced what it said was backlash at its stores, including threats to employees, it pulled some Pride merchandise, and moved remaining Pride items from the front to the back of some stores.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Today’s top retail reads.

Can they do it? Innovation in the grocery world is keeping up with new consumer habits and expectations, but some of the technology available to the bigger players is much harder for regional chains to get ahold of or implement seamlessly. (Grocery Dive)

Anything helps: Inflation is easing but many consumers are starting to or have grown accustomed to using buy now, pay later services to pay for their groceries. (the Washington Post)

Welcome back: Hermès’s newest location in Tianjin, China, marks the end of a 12-year hiatus in the city, and it’s looking to go all out with a full range of products and expansive store layout. (WWD)

Retail radar: Want in-the-know details on what’s trending, trailing, and sticking around in retail? Download Marigold’s Retail Consumer Trends Index to peep the stats and meet your customers where they are.*

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The numbers you need to know.

We are so back. And by back, we mean to 2021-like inflation levels that, you may remember, kicked off a historic two-year rise.

The consumer price index increased only 3% YoY in June, the slowest pace since March 2021, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics first caught wind of rising inflation.

This slowdown is also evident in the e-commerce space, as online prices in June fell 2.6% YoY, the largest decrease since May 2020 when prices dropped 1.5%, according to the latest Adobe Digital Price Index.

• June marked the 10th month in a row of YoY price drops.

On a month-over-month (MoM) basis, June prices fell 1.3%, largely driven by products including electronics (12.9% YoY and 2.3% MoM) and appliances (8.3% YoY and 1.3% MoM).

In contrast, however, seven of the 18 categories Adobe tracks saw YoY price bumps last month, including personal care, pet products, groceries, non-prescription drugs, home improvement, medical supplies, and apparel.

The grocery category, one of the biggest categories affecting consumers, has slowed down, with a 7.6% YoY jump in May compared to a May YoY increase of 8.2%, 9.3% YoY in April, and 10.3% YoY in March.