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As we go about checking our phones for the latest updates, watching our favorite television shows, or even cooking our daily meals, we often don’t think about the uses of copper and other metals that fuel, power, and drive our modern lives.

From electrical appliances to jewelry, healthcare, and transport—we use copper everywhere–and its applications are only growing as the world moves towards sustainable technologies.

Today’s infographic comes to us from Trilogy Metals and shines a light on the varied uses of copper and the important role it plays in enabling a cleaner, greener future.

Modern economies rely on infrastructure, transportation, healthcare, construction, and energy utilities. Copper is critical to each one of these industries—supporting economic growth, urbanization, higher living standards, and a sustainable future.

How does copper do all this?

The element has five key properties that make it an integral part of the modern economy:

Let’s look at how these properties factor into major uses of the red metal today.

The construction and infrastructure industries use more than 40% of all copper produced. Copper’s properties make it the optimal choice for various construction activities:

In addition, copper lightning conductors are the longstanding protectors of buildings when lightning strikes—a further testament to its electrical properties.

Despite its widespread usage, copper remains highly affordable. Without copper, powering, wiring, and protecting our homes would prove costly and difficult.

From gas-powered cars and electrical vehicles (EVs) to trains and airplanes, copper is an essential part of our daily commute.

Here are some interesting uses of copper in transportation:

As the global population grows, more transportation services will be required—and copper will continue to play a crucial role.

Did you know that copper can kill 99.9% of E.Coli within two hours of exposure?

This, alongside the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, makes copper’s antimicrobial properties and healthcare applications more important than ever.

Copper helps us lead healthier lives in many ways.

More than 500 antimicrobial copper alloys are registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. With further research, copper could play an even bigger role in healthcare.

Copper’s durability and aesthetic appeal make it ideal for usage in jewelry and coinage, where it’s present in significant quantities.

For instance, 18K gold jewelry typically contains 75% gold, 15% silver, and 10% copper. Not only does copper strengthen gold and silver jewelry, but its alloys (brass and bronze) are also commonly used to make jewelry items that are affordable and appealing.

Furthermore, many of the coins we use are made from copper and its alloys. To be precise, two properties of copper are key to producing durable and safe coins:

The average single-family home contains around 200 kilograms (439 lbs) of copper.

Here’s how it breaks down, along with the amount of copper in general appliances:

But that’s not all.

In addition to home appliances, copper also plays an important role in objects that we use on a daily basis. According to BBC, a typical iPhone contains 15 grams of copper on average—approximately 10% of the phone’s weight.

Copper is an integral part of the modern economy today. Its unique properties enable urbanization and economic development at low costs—and the story doesn’t end here.

As the world transitions towards a cleaner energy mix, copper will be an essential material in empowering a more sustainable future.

According to McKinsey, a whopping 73% of global power generation will come from renewable energy sources by 2050—and copper has a significant role to play in this transition.

Solar and wind energy farms are heavily dependent on copper. Cabling and heat-exchange in solar and wind farms are the primary applications of copper in renewable energy generation.

For starters, wind farms can contain anywhere between 4 to 15 million pounds of copper. Moreover, solar photovoltaic farms require 9,000 pounds of copper per megawatt of energy. To put that into context, India’s solar power generation capacity is 31,696 megawatts—which alone would require about 322 million pounds of copper.

As the standard benchmark for electrical conductivity, copper is indispensable for EVs. The growing EV market could bolster copper demand in the near future.

Copper is used in EV batteries, coils, wiring, and charging stations. As per current growth projections, by 2030, more than 250,000 tonnes of copper will be needed as part of the windings in electric traction motors in on-road EVs.

The transition to clean energy, coupled with urbanization and economic development, implies that copper is critical for the future.

However, copper’s importance to the future is a double-edged sword and raises concerns about the sustainability of its supply—will there be enough?

From the 5.8 trillion pounds of known copper resources, only 12% have been mined throughout history—and thanks to copper’s recyclability, almost all of that is still in circulation.

Not only does recycled copper offer the same quality and benefits as newly mined copper, but it also saves a massive 40 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. Additionally, copper recycling uses 80-90% less energy than mining, and a total of 8.5 million tonnes of the red metal are produced from recycled scrap each year.

Copper’s recyclability makes it reusable for years to come, complementing the path to sustainable development.

The exceptional properties of copper allow for widespread applications, which continue to grow as the world shifts towards clean energy.

And since we need copper for all aspects of life, its demand will always persist.

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Since the COVID 19 pandemic, remote work has gone under a paradigm shift. This graphic breaks down the new world of work and for investors.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a major catalyst in the future of work.

We quickly learned that work could be done practically anywhere. To emphasize the impact remote work culture has had, consider the fact that some 71% of Americans did some type of remote work in 2020, compared to just 20% pre-pandemic.

This infographic from eToro dives into the new world of remote work and explores the main trends investors need to know.

Remote work culture has been met with positivity by both workers and employers. While the benefits may vary from person to person, there are a key few that seem to resonate on a wide scale. For instance, 32% of survey respondents point to flexible scheduling as a top benefit.

In addition to happier workers, productivity has seen an untick as well. About 56% of workers report being slightly or considerably more productive during the pandemic. By contrast, only 28% report being either slightly less or considerably less productive.

Of course, the remote trend does not come without its fair share of challenges.

The most notable is being unable to unplug from work. This might be the result of constant and seemingly endless emails, or perhaps the lack of being able to physically leave your desk and office. The effects of digital burnout could be why 64% of workers surveyed say they prefer to commute again rather than sort through emails and why fake commutes are trending.

Here are the top challenges of working remotely:

Challenges and flaws to the remote model are inevitable. But so too are innovative solutions.

Portugal is one example, with recent labour laws passing prohibiting bosses from messaging you during the after work hours. What’s more, it’s likely that the remote work model may continue with further adjustments and fine tuning.

Ultimately, remote work will likely continue having its challenges, but for most, the benefits do appear to outweigh the costs.

And there are a number of indicators that suggest the remote trend is here to stay. For starters, mentioning’s of remote work in public company transcripts have soared. As have the number of remote job postings:

Unsurprisingly, the nature of work in certain industries is resulting in large disparities between remote adoption growth rates. For instance, software and IT remote job postings have more than doubled since September 2020, while retail has stayed flat (it’s a lot easier to code remotely compared to selling clothes).

But the broader overall trend for remote jobs continues to point upwards. In the long run, companies that choose not to lean into some form of a remote model might see their ability to attract talent falter.

Workers who say they prefer an office-only approach represent an extremely small slice—just 2%. Furthermore, some serious cost savings may be missed, the remote model can save an employer up to $10,000 a year, per employee, from real estate costs alone.

eToro’s RemoteWork Smart Portfolio* gives investors direct access to the remote work industry.

Curated by experienced and proven investment teams, the thematic portfolio offers exposure to a broad range of companies partaking in the remote work revolution, with no management fees.

*Your capital is at risk. Smart Portfolios is a portfolio management product, provided by eToro Europe Ltd., which is authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

SmartPortfolios should not be considered as exchange traded funds, nor as hedge funds.

The history of shaving dates back to ancient times. This graphic explores its timeline and takes a look at the modern shaving landscape.

The art of shaving is a timeless practice.

The average person spends 3,000 hours of their life shaving, roughly the equivalent of one-third of an entire calendar year. But do you know how shaving came to be?

This infographic from our sponsor Henson Shaving looks at the history and evolution of shaving, from ancient times to the present day.

The rich history of shaving starts back in 3,000 BC. Let’s dive in.

3,000 – 332 BC: In Ancient Egypt, shaving was associated with status, wealth, and one’s standing in society. The appearance of facial hair implied that a person didn’t have enough money to visit a barber frequently. Albeit to a lesser degree, this way of thinking has bled into the 21st century, in that a clean shaven face is now associated with professionalism and success.

356 – 323 BC: In Ancient Greece, beards were the norm in society as people looked to the likes of Plato and Socrates.

Alexander the Great, however, was a trend setter and disrupted this status quo by practicing the clean shave. He became the first Greek ruler to have done so. In fact, he pointed out that a man’s beard could be grabbed easily, putting soldiers at a disadvantage during military combat. He therefore mandated his army shave their faces before battle.

100 – 44 BC: Appearances had a big part to play in Roman Republic, beards were seen as barbaric and “un-Roman”.

Julius Caesar, known for being fashion-forward and wearing a “loosely belted” toga, also plucked out his beard hairs, creating a trend that many Roman men followed. Emperor Augustus Caesar, who Julius was an uncle to, also shaved daily.

Shaving even had a spiritual component to it in Roman society. The first facial hairs of a young man were cut off and offered to the gods for blessing and good fortune. Celebrations and parties would ensue shortly after.

When we fast forward to the 18th century, major developments were made by what could best be described as the founding fathers of modern shaving.

1762: Jean-Jacques Perret, a Frenchman from Paris, designed the first model for a safety razor with a protective wooden safeguard attached to a regular straight razor. A safety razor is one with a protective device positioned between the edge of the blade and the skin, which results in less reliance on the steady hand and skill of a barber.

1847: William Henson revolutionized shaving with the design of the modern T-handled razor, which has carried forward to this day. This design places the blade at right angles on top of the handle, which resembles a hoe gardening tool.

1876: The Kampfe brothers are known for adding safety and efficacy improvements to Henson’s design though the star safety razor. They shortened the blade and set a frame from the handle by interposing a blade-holder, which quickly became popular.

1900: King C. Gillette used the existing designs at the time to create disposable razor cartridges. This was a key event in shaving history as disposable razors still populate the market today.

1914-1945: During the wars, most armies required their soldiers to shave. Clean shaves helped with functionality, like ensuring a tight seal with gas masks and other face equipment. They also helped instill a culture of discipline, which militaries are typically known for.

Cartridge razors became the predominant style of razor during and after the First World War, when the U.S. Army began issuing Gillette shaving kits to its servicemen.

After the two world wars, innovation in razor design came to somewhat of a halt. As patents began to expire, the shaving industry became increasingly corporatized.

This period in history of mass production, long assembly lines, and planned obsolescence has stretched to the present day, where people buy razors for a short period before replacing them.

Despite a rich history, the modern day shaving ecosystem is abundant with flaws. The market is flooded with cheap plastic cartridge razors and gimmicky marketing.

For instance, the number of blades on a razor has increased from one to up to five. However, there isn’t much data to suggest more blades results in a better shave. In fact, for many consumers, multiple-blades are a direct problem that results in ingrown hairs and razor burns.

A multi-blade razor cuts over the surface many times over, which is not suited for coarse hair or irritation prone skin. In particular, up to 30% of people experience some form of irritation from multi-blade cartridge razors. And for people of color who are more likely to have curly or coarse hairs, this figure can reach as high as 60%.

In addition, plastic cartridge razors contribute to the ongoing pollution crisis that society is facing.

The art of shaving has fallen off track during the last century. Fortunately, shavers around the world are beginning to change their ways, and are opting for quality over quantity, by choosing a Henson shave.

Henson Shaving is looking to disrupt the shaving industry by bucking the trends that have transpired over the last century. They have taken a 150-year-old idea and are executing on it with 21st century manufacturing and technology. Each razor’s precision results in tolerances thinner than one-third of a human hair. Other benefits include:

>>>Learn more about the last razor you’ll ever buy with Henson Shaving by clicking here now.

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