FEATURED WORK
invited talks/ presentations / projects / events / magazines
WOW MANCHESTER FESTIVAL
May 2024
Women of the World Festival 2024
A celebration of women, girls and non-binary people with the first WOW -Women of the World Festival in Manchester.
Fresh from Festivals in Pakistan, Istanbul and Athens, WOW took over the Aviva Studios with inspirational activists, speakers and performers.
WOW is the world’s biggest, most comprehensive festival celebrating women, girls and non-binary people. To date, WOW Festivals have reached five million people in more than 45 locations across the globe on six continents.
The first ever WOW Manchester Festival was the chance to be part of the global movement and see world-class speakers, activists, musicians and comedians, including Australia’s first woman Prime Minister Julia Gillard, actors Maxine Peake, Sophie Willan and Zawe Ashton, author and former hostage Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Manchester legend DJ Paulette, the Deputy Mayor of Kathmandu Sunita Dangol, broadcaster Gemma Cairney and author Chimene Suleyman. Three days of life-changing conversations, incredible performances and more.
I was part of the 'Why Natural Dye?' online discussion event bringing together artists, academic researchers and community organisations to explore the potential and future of natural dyeing. The event was hosted in collaboration with Woven and Stitched Up.
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GREAT FASHION SHARE
February 2024
The University of Manchester - Faculty of Science and Engineering and The Great Science Share for Schools
An initiative started at the University of Manchester, The Great Science Share for Schools develops resources and hosts events to develop school children's lines of enquiry about all sorts of science based topics.
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Working with my lovely colleague Kevin Harding and the GSSfS team, resources were developed to encourage kids to get involved with the science of fashion and sustainability. How do our fashion choices make a difference?
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Check us out here for 5 - 7 year olds, 7 - 11 year olds and 11 - 14 year olds.
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GREEN TOGETHER
February 2024
The University of Manchester - Faculty of Science and Engineering
Hosted at Manchester's Central Library, the event invited the public to join the discussion in ways in which we can make a greener future, starting conversations with people who want to make a difference.
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Learn about why soil matters, how small fibres find their way into the environment, and what the future of our electricity system will look like.
Come along and meet our friendly scientists and engineers, and understand the parts at play in the world around us.
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We hosted a stand discussing the issue of microfibres in fashion; what they are, how they are created, and what we can do about it. We had lots of visitors very interested in taking a close up view of the fabrics their clothing is made from.
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Interested in hearing more? Check us out here! Caring for your clothes / Shopping sustainably
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Radio 4 Podcast
If you’ve ever made the mistake of going for a hike wearing just jeans and a t-shirt you’ll know it can be a pretty sweaty, uncomfortable experience. But it doesn’t have to be that way! There are myriad products promising to keep you dry, warm and protected from whatever the weather can throw at you. Listener Julie is keen to know more about that after she went on an adventure holiday without the right kit, leaving her cold and miserable. She’s heard about fabrics that promise to ‘wick away’ the sweat and others that keep you warm in cold weather and cool when it’s hot. And what about the jackets that claim to stop rain getting in yet still be breathable enough to let vapour and sweat out. How does that work?!
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I was the textile technology expert in this, explaining how moisture management works in fabrics.
Radio 4 Podcast
“Make better. Buy better. Wear it longer.”
Maddie has asked Greg to look into what “sustainability” actually means when it comes to denim. Is it a term that marks genuine eco-impact, or is it more marketing BS?
And, as adverts claim, do “sustainable” jeans last longer?
Greg speaks to an organisation that rates clothing brands’ sustainability credentials and visits Manchester Metropolitan University to hear the results of their ‘rub test’ (i.e. me!).
EDUCATION FOR CIRCULARITY
The Textile institute World Conference 2023
Hosted at the University of Huddersfield, i had the pleasure of presenting with my wonderful colleague Dr Jo Conlon, putting out a call to action for like minded educators to drive education in circular fashion forward in HE.
Please get in touch if you want to know more!
HANDS ON BIOFILM!
A Manchester Science Festival event
Hosted at the Science Museum in Manchester, this 'Hands-on Biofilm' workshop explored the many links between food, fabric, fungi and fashion.
Held as part of Manchester Science Festival 2022, it invited the public to come and explore the role of biofilms from every angle.
Over 1200 visitors came to try their hands at building their own biofilm, creating their own biofabric, designing and making their own bio fashion, and sampling fermented foods.
THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY: TEXTILES 2030
An article in Textiles magazine (2021, Issue 3); a Textile Institute publication
This important initiative, part of the Waste Resources Action Plan (WRAP), promises to be a game changer for all areas of the textiles industry.
I am the lead academic at Manchester Metropolitan University for Textiles 2030 and am working hard with colleagues across the institution to change the face of the HE landscape in light of the climate emergency.
TEXTILES AND LIFE 3: THE NEW NORMAL
The third Manchester and North West section of The Textile Institute student conference.
I led the organisation of this conference which attracted over 150 international delegates from both industry and academia.
The one day conferences was a bit of a change for the section, it was 100% online and was an exciting mix of both poster and oral presentations covering a wide range of topics from the highly technical to high fashion and everything in between!
SUSTAINABILITY TALKS
8TH FEB 2021 @ 17:15
A mycelium bowl or a bone handle jug?
A roundtable session where panellists speak about a bowl grown from mushrooms or a jug with a cow bone handle.
My contribution? 'Eeeeewwwww! What did you say it was made of again?'
WEAVING TALES AND SPINNING YARNS
An article in Textiles magazine; a Textile Institute publication
This was written in collaboration with Dr John Parkinson of iinouiio, who specialise in reprocessing waste garments into 'new' yarns.
I am hoping that at some point I can do more work with www.iinouiio.com as what they do is fabulous!
WHO WILL COMPLETE THE LOOP? - FASHION EDUCATION FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Online conference presentation
Sustainable Apparel and Textiles in the Circular Economy
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University of Huddersfield
September 2020
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A paper written with my lovely colleague, Lisa Trencher, discussing the findings of a project analysing the skills of undergraduates aligned to the needs of industry in the field of fashion sustainability.
BIOINSPIRED MATERIALS
Poster Presentation
A research poster exhibited as part of the 2017 conference. I won 'Best Bioinspired Material' prize!
MICROBIOLOGY AND ART
Manchester Science Festival
A round table discussion with scientists and artists.
BIOINSPIRED MATERIALS CONFERENCE 2018
Keynote speaker
It was an honour to be invited to speak at this international conference which spans biomimetic sensors, materials chemistry, 3D-printing and tissue engineering.
HATS OFF TO VLEATHER!
Manchester Science Festival
A collaborative project with the fabulous HatWorks museum in Stockport and the very talented Bronwen Simpson.
DIGITAL CITIES
Celebrating creativity!
Hosted at Harvey Nichols in Manchester and part of a series of city wide events celebrating the future of creativity.
