Role
Beth Pagett is a Research Fellow in the Sustainable Transitions research group within the Fashion and Textile Research Centre (FTRC) at the Nottingham School of Art & Design. Beth works on the research project ‘Developing a circular PPE textile system that has environmental and societal benefit’ which is led by Professor Katherine Towsend. The project aims to extend the life of PPE (after it has been worn up to 75 times in healthcare settings) by exploring different opportunities for reuse with the ultimate goal of creating a circular ‘gown-to-gown’ PPE textile system. The project is currently focused on developing PPE reuse initiatives that promote social and sustainable innovation, for example through collaboration with prisons, charities, NHS trusts and SMEs.
Career overview
Beth’s educational background is focused on environmental sustainability and human-nature relationships. She completed an MSc in Human Ecology at Lund University (2016 – 2017) and holds an MSci in Environmental Geography and Climate Change from the University of East Anglia (2010 – 2014). Beth has previously worked as a research assistant in the third sector and has been a natural dyeing practitioner since 2018.
Research areas
Beth’s doctoral research explored the contemporary revival of natural dyeing practices within the United Kingdom. The research investigated why and how people practise natural dyeing and explored the intra-actions that occur between, humans, nature and materials. By illuminating the experiences of practitioners who grow or forage their materials and the micro-scale textile systems that they create, the research revealed how natural dyeing can support socio-ecological change and contribute to sustainability both within and beyond fashion and textiles. Through positioning natural dyeing as a countercultural practice, the research highlights how working seasonally, locally and slowly offers alternative ways of organising work and fosters values that challenge growth-centric paradigms and align with post-growth futures.
External activity
Beth is co-editor of the journal Craft Research (https://www.intellectbooks.com/craft-research) alongside Dr Gemma Potter from Manchester Metropolitan University. Craft Research advocates and promotes current and emerging craft research, including research into materials, processes, methods, concepts, aesthetic and style. The journal positions craft as a vital and viable modern discipline and highlights the importance of craft in shaping more sustainable futures.
Publications
Pagett, B. (2023). Using a 360° Camera to Record Natural Dyeing Craft Practice. FormAkademisk, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.7577/formakademisk.5412
Townsend, K., Potter, G., & Pagett, B. (2025). Matters of concern: Mapping past and future craft identities. Craft Research, 16(1), 3-10.
Townsend, K., Potter, G., & Pagett, B. (2024). Entanglements of craft: Between nature, culture and economy. Craft Research, 15(2), 183-189.