Sustainability in Fast Fashion: What is the role of the consumer?

Professor Tracy Scurry is Professor of Work and Employment at Newcastle University Business School.

Her current research embraces:

• graduate careers
• identity narratives of global workers, and
• career development programmes

Her work seeks to reframe understandings about graduate careers. It does this by demonstrating their multi-level and relational nature.

Tracy has conducted research for policymakers, such as BIS and the North East Local Economic Partnership. She has acted as an expert for professional bodies like the Association for Careers and Guidance Services. Tracy has worked with regional branches of the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD) and the North East Chambers of Commerce (NECC). She engaged members with research and organised events.

Tracy has worked with a number of public sector organisations. She evaluates the processes and impact of organisational change. She focuses on its relationship with flexible working practices and work/life balance initiatives.

Professor Diana Gregory-Smith is Professor of Marketing and Sustainability at Newcastle University Business School.

Diana's research crosses over several fields:

• ethical and sustainable marketing and consumption
• employee pro-environmental behaviour in the workplace
• the psychology of decision-making and behaviour change
• health and social marketing, and
• technology and consumer behaviour

Her interdisciplinary work has been published in a range of journals. These include:

• Journal of Business Ethics, Psychology and Marketing
• Journal of Marketing Management
• European Management Review
• Technological Forecasting and Social Change
• Annals of Tourism Research, and
• Tourism Management

She is also the co-editor of the Handbook of Employee Pro-Environmental Behaviour.

Professor Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas is Professor of Marketing and Sustainable Business at the British School of Fashion, GCU London.

Natascha conducts research into sustainable fashion and conscious consumption. This includes the intersection of sustainable fashion practices and wellbeing. She was featured in The SustainabilityX Magazine’s inaugural Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards 2022.

Notable positions:

• Vice-Chair of the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) for the UK and Ireland.
• Member of the Global Expert Pedagogy Group
• Editor-in-Chief for Bloomsbury Fashion Business Case Studies
• Associate Editor for the International Journal of Sustainable Fashion and Textiles
• Co-author of Fashion Management: A Strategic Approach

Natascha won the Case Centre 2020 Award for Ethics and Social Responsibility. She was Runner-Up in the FT’s 2022 Responsible Business Educator Awards. She has supported the RSA and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation on their Make Fashion Circular initiatives.

Jo Linehan began her career in fashion editing and styling in 2011. Over the course of her career, she grew concerned by the waste and disparity generated by the consumer industry.

In 2018, she decided to use her platform and voice to start important conversations around sustainability.

Jo is currently a sustainability columnist with The Sunday Times and Irish Country Magazine. She hosts Futurist, a sustainability podcast. She runs a circular economy platform for interiors - GAFF Shop.

She is passionate about the personal changes we can make as consumers. These changes will contribute to a more circular, fair and environmentally-friendly future.

Follow Jo on Instagram

Mukilan Deivarajan Suresh is an Ethics and Environment Rep. Newcastle University Students' Union appointed this voluntary role. Mukilan promotes awareness of ethical and environmental issues. He helps ensure that these issues receive priority across campus.