Jimil Ataman

Jimil Ataman, PhD, MSEd, is an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Innovation in the Global Fashion Industry at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, within the Human Ecology Department. Her work focuses on sustainable fashion systems, digital economies, and feminist theory through experimental ethnography. She holds a joint PhD in Cultural Anthropology and Education, Culture, and Society from the University of Pennsylvania (2024), alongside graduate certificates in Media Policy and Communication and Experimental Ethnography.

Her research explores contradictions in sustainable fashion production and consumption, particularly through studies of the slow fashion community on Instagram and in the Pacific Northwest. This includes analyzing how stakeholders navigate constraints in transforming clothing manufacturing and sales practices. Dr. Ataman has been widely featured in media, including CBC, CTV Morning Live Edmonton, Canadian Press, and Buzzfeed, discussing topics like local apparel shopping, Black Friday consumer trends, and the 'Buy Canadian' movement. Recent interviews include 'How Canadians Can Shop for Local Apparel' (CBC, 2025) and 'Underconsumption Core TikTok Trend Explained' (Buzzfeed, 2024).

She teaches

• HECOL 241 - Fashion Industries (Fall Term 2025)
• HECOL 441 - Textiles and Apparel in the Global Economy (Winter Term 2026)

and is currently accepting undergraduate students for research supervision. Her work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, blending cultural anthropology with digital media analysis to address contemporary consumption and production challenges in global fashion.