Lecturer in Fashion Business and Marketing
Deborah is a fashion sustainability specialist, academic, and consultant with over twenty years of experience in the global fashion industry. Her career spans design, technical development, and product management. She launched her own sustainable label, CGC Clothing, and has worked with national and international brands across womenswear tailoring and sportswear product development.
Her consultancy and workshop projects include collaborations with Nike, Oxfam, the Amsterdam Arts and Craft Centre, and Dutch streetwear brand Daily Paper. She has delivered talks on sustainable fashion for organisations such as the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (UK) and ENJO (Germany) and was a consultant for the Reebok Retrospective Exhibition at Bolton Library and Museum.
Academically, Deborah holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and an MPhil focused on consumer attitudes toward sustainable garment consumption. She is now completing a PhD by publication. Her research has been presented at the Celebration of Innovation, Education for Sustainable Development, and the Manchester Better Business Summit, and her abstract The Digital Passport: A Sustainability Journey in Ethical Fashion has been accepted for the 93rd Textile Institute World Conference in 2025.
At the University of Salford, Deborah is Programme Lead for the MA Fashion Business and Marketing, along with leadership roles as an Outreach Lead and Research Ethics Reviewer. She teaches modules on sustainability, the circular economy, regenerative textiles, and legal governance, and also lectures on the BA (Hons) Fashion Business and Promotion. She set up to the industry partnership between Salford and ACS Clothing, a leader in circular garment solutions.
Deborah also participates in public debate, including panels with Wayne Hemingway MBE and Patrick Grant, and podcast discussions for the ESRC Festival of Social Science, helping shape dialogue on sustainable fashion at both academic and public levels.
Email: d.m.a.smailes@salford.ac.uk