Taylor Brydges

Dr. Taylor Brydges is a Research Principal at the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), where she joined in September 2019 initially as a Visiting Scholar before transitioning to her current role. As part of the Resource Stewardship team, she focuses on sustainable production and consumption, the circular economy, and the fashion industry. She works closely with Dr. Monique Retamal on the project "Sustainable Fashion in Australia and sectoral resilience during the pandemic" and supports the work of the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence.

Dr. Brydges' educational background includes an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies (with Minors in Political Science and Sociology) and a Master of Arts in Human Geography from the University of Toronto. She completed her PhD in Human Geography at Uppsala University in Sweden.

Dr. Brydges' research interests span sustainable production and consumption, circular economy principles, fashion industry sustainability, environmental policy, environmental politics, and life cycle assessment. Her work critically examines how sustainable practices can be implemented across the fashion value chain, from material innovation to consumer behavior. She investigates the challenges and opportunities of transitioning to more sustainable fashion systems, with particular attention to the role of design, business models, and policy interventions.

Her publication record demonstrates a strong focus on sustainable fashion systems, with particular emphasis on circular economy implementation, material innovations, and consumer behavior. Recent work explores the wellbeing economy framework for fashion, textile recycling challenges, and the role of digital platforms in sustainable consumption. Her research often takes a comparative international approach, examining practices across Australia, Sweden, Canada, and other global contexts.

Dr. Brydges has secured significant research funding, including serving as the sole Principal Investigator on the project "Circular is the New Black: Investigating the Implementation of Circular Economy Principles in the Swedish Fashion Industry," funded by the Swedish Research Council from 2018-2021. This project was carried out at Stockholm University, Sweden and the Institute for Sustainable Futures, Australia.

As part of the Resource Stewardship team at ISF, Dr. Brydges contributes to collaborative research efforts focused on sustainable resource use and circular economy transitions. Her work bridges academic research with practical applications for industry and policy stakeholders.