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Group

Sustainable Transitions Research Group

Research theme(s): Digital, Technology and Creative | Health Innovation | Safety and Sustainability

School: School of Art & Design

The Sustainable Transitions research group, part of the Fashion and Textile Research Centre, investigates diverse pathways toward sustainable fashion and textile systems, from industry-facing initiatives to practice-based design research and speculative explorations.

We are driven by deep concern about the social and environmental impacts of the fashion and textile industry and the urgency of the climate and ecological emergency. We work in collaboration with manufacturers, retailers and brands, with academic partners, and with communities in local and global settings. Across varied lines of enquiry, we create opportunities to foster meaningful real-world change.

We are happy to receive email enquiries from prospective collaborators and postgraduate research students. For all enquiries please contact the Coordinator of the Sustainable Transitions group, Dr Amy Twigger Holroyd.

Header image: Participatory speculation project Fashion Fictions, led by Dr Amy Twigger Holroyd. Photograph: Sanket Haribhau Nikam.

The Sustainable Transitions research group’s work involves four interconnected areas of activity:

Many of our research and knowledge exchange activities seek to drive change in the fashion and textile industry by working in collaboration with manufacturers, retailers, brands and industry organisations. This area of practice builds on the internationally recognised work of the Clothing Sustainability Research Group, which undertook landmark studies on clothing longevity and public understanding of sustainable clothing. Today, our research is investigating the skills and infrastructure needed for a sustainable fashion industry and a circular system for PPE and healthcare apparel. Further areas of interest include sustainability in supply chains, sustainable business models and sustainable fashion marketing.

Another area of specialism is participation: exploring the potential for sustainable change by working with particular groups of people – whether users/wearers or those with more specialist knowledge – in different ways. We have developed distinctive participatory research methods that explore co-creation, collective imagination and clothing relationships. This work generates fresh propositions for sustainable fashion practices, organisations and systems. We also forge connections between research and teaching, supporting students to develop their understanding of design responsibility by embedding sustainability-focused participatory research initiatives in the curriculum and studying their impact.

Our research community includes designers, makers, scientists and technicians who share a common interest in fashion and textile materials and processes. Through design research, creative experimentation and technical investigation undertaken in partnership with the Advanced Textiles Research Group, we explore new possibilities for materials and processes, including natural dyes and pigments; biomaterials; repurposing, upcycling and recycling; sustainable composites; sensorial and responsive materials; e-textiles; and mending and repair. The knowledge generated feeds into our work with industry and with participant groups, as well as being shared through academic publications, exhibitions and knowledge exchange initiatives.

We recognise that transitions toward sustainability will involve significant cultural and societal change. As such, an important strand of our research is conducted in partnership with the Cultures & Heritage research group. This research investigates the social and cultural factors that influence the potential for sustainable change, along with related theoretical concepts. It often involves studying a cultural phenomenon, from home sewing by hobbyists in the UK to the use of digital platforms by artisans in Guatemala, to gain an in-depth understanding of the current situation to inform future design-led interventions. This research spans various areas of focus including human–nature connections, popular culture and wellbeing.

Background

The Sustainable Transitions group builds on the work of the Clothing Sustainability Research Group (CSRG), led by Professor Tim Cooper since 2010. Research undertaken by members of CSRG resulted in a series of project reports for Defra (Public Understanding of Sustainable Clothing, 2008; Strategies to improve design and testing for clothing longevity, 2014–16) and WRAP (including Design for Longevity: Guidance on increasing the active life of clothing, 2013), followed by the Clothing Durability Dozen toolkit (2021).

Gallery

Publications and PhD Projects

Please see below for the ongoing research that our key staff members are undertaking for this research group.

COOKE, S., 2024. Craft learning at home: experiences of learning to make clothes at home using on- and offline resources. FORMakademisk, 17 (1). ISSN 1890-9515

CLAXTON, S., 2023. Durable apparel in the circular economy: exploring the effect of post-industrial material waste on garment lifetimes. In: K. NIINIMÄKI and K. CURA, eds., Proceedings. 5th PLATE Conference, Espoo, Finland, 31 May - 2 June, 2023. Aalto University publication series ART + DESIGN + ARCHITECTURE (3/2023). Espoo, Finland: Aalto University, pp. 195-202. ISBN 9789526413679

MARRONCELLI, R., 2024. Sustainability and the Fast Fashion Business Model. In: A. SCHRAMME and N. VERBOVEN, eds., Sustainability and the fashion industry: can fashion save the world? Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 9781032659053

NIEDDERER, K., TOWNSEND, K. and POTTER, G., 2024. Craft in times of change: making as a response to crisis. Craft Research, 15 (1), pp. 3-11. ISSN 2040-4689

PEIRSON-SMITH, A. and CLAXTON, S., 2024. Waste not, want not: re-routing garment and textile waste streams to create circular fashion design eco-systems in Bangladesh and beyond. In: K. NIINIMÄKI, ed., Recycling and lifetime management in the textile and fashion sector. Abingdon: CRC Press, pp. 115-143. ISBN 9780367490836

PERERA, N., SHAHIDI, A.M., MARASINGHE, K., KANER, J., OLIVEIRA, C., WICKENDEN, R., DIAS, T. and HUGHES-RILEY, T., 2024. Exploring sustainable approaches for electronic textile products and prototypes. Sensors, 24 (17): 5472. ISSN 1424-8220

PIPER, A., TOWNSEND, K. and JABUR, L., 2023. Resilience, resourcefulness and creativity: learning from the diversification of Guatemalan artisans during the pandemic to sustain textile traditions. Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice. ISSN 2051-1787

SIREGAR, Y., KENT, A., PEIRSON-SMITH, A. and GUAN, C., 2023. Disrupting the fashion retail journey: social media and GenZ's fashion consumption. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 51 (7), pp. 862-875. ISSN 0959-0552

ŠTERMAN, S., TOWNSEND, K., SALTER, E. and HARRIGAN, K., 2022. Surveying healthcare workers to improve the design, wearer experience and sustainability of PPE isolation gowns. Strojniški vestnik - Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 68 (4), pp. 252-264. ISSN 0039-2480

TOWNSEND, K., PRINCE, E., ESCOTT, A. and BARKER, G., 2023. NTU X Emmanuel House: developing a responsible design practice with fashion students and service users. In: R. EARLEY and R. HORNBUCKLE, eds., Design materials and making for social change: from materials we explore to materials we wear. Design Research for Change . New York: Routledge, pp. 102-123. ISBN 9781032168265

TWIGGER HOLROYD, A., 2024. Finding solidarity in Fashion Fictions. In: D. BRUGGEMAN, ed., Practicing solidarity: critical fashion and agency that matters. Arnhem: ArtEZ Press.

TWIGGER HOLROYD, A., FARLEY GORDON, J. and HILL, C., 2023. Historical perspectives on sustainable fashion: inspiration for change. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781350160439

Megha Chauhan - Intercultural frameworks to re-search textile-nature partnerships:

rhythms and rituals of wool from Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat

Natalie Cole – Starting with soil: investigating compostable materials from local food and agricultural waste for sustainable furniture and products

Sally Cooke - Material Encounters: fashion sustainability examined through beginners’ experiences of learning to sew clothes at home

Katie Furmston - Furniture lifetimes in the circular economy

Upama Haq - Promoting a circular system for synthetic textiles through biotechnology-driven recycling

Jureepon Lueakha - An exploration of sustainability for interior design practice of fashion brands in Thailand

Rose Marroncelli - The emotional durability of fast fashion: male and female perspectives

Beth Pagett - Natural dyeing in contemporary craft cultures: Intra-actions between humans, nature and materials

Emily Rickard - KnitWell: Exploring creative, open-ended knitting as a form of journaling to record emotions, with consideration for mental wellbeing

Matholo Scott - Weaving with Light: Craftspeople as collaborators in the interdisciplinary development of electronic textiles

Lisa Shawgi - Exploring ‘lived experiences’ of women with Raynaud’s Syndrome to inform fashionable knitwear designs that support agency and wellbeing through material experience

PhD Funding

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