Conference Agenda

South Africa is a country which is facing significant textile waste problem. High volumes of second-hand products are entering the marketplace and represent an opportunity to SMEs and micro-businesses. Clothes to Good (CTG), a South African charitable organisation, are working to offset this challenge by creating upcycling programmes which repurpose these products through micro-business models designed to empower mothers of neurodivergent children. Neurodiversity is rising in South Africa and sensory stimuli products are an opportunity to repurpose second-hand clothing to products to support these consumers. This research represents the pilot study of a larger project investigating micro-business programmes creating weighted products from upcycled materials in South Africa. Using an exploratory methodology employing in-depth interviews with two key stakeholders in CTG this work highlights several barriers or areas of concern when implementing these programmes: 1) design expertise, 2) textile challenges, 3) scalability concerns.

The transition toward a more circular economy is closely linked to the extent to which fashion brands incorporate sustainability principles into their retail communication, and operational practices. This paper explores circularity strategies within the fashion industry through a comparative case study analysis and data were collected through a systematic desktop review of publicly available sources. The analytical framework is structured around three key themes (Advocacy, Actions, and Transparency) through which brands engage consumers, implement circular operations, and communicate measurable impact specifically within the distribution and consumption phase. Additionally, the study discusses the role of Design as an enabler of circularity, influencing material choices, product longevity, and systems for reuse and recycling. Findings indicate that while advocacy and collaboration are widespread, transparency and measurable reporting remain limited. Overall, the analysis reflects a sector that is developing its retailing and engagement practices while exhibiting variability in metric standardization and disclosure.

While the fashion industry has accepted, conceptually at least, the benefits of circularity in the context of products and supply chains, little has been written about circularity within the wider context of fashion store design and fit-out. Yet, these aspects of planning and operating retail outlets are central to an industry sector which significantly contributes to local and global economies. This paper comprises an integrated review of academic and industry literature to form themes for future research development. The review revealed four key knowledge gaps: a paucity of data to understand how circularity is implemented in fashion retail design practice; how to measure the effectiveness of circularity related to retail design and fit-out; how and why circularity in retail design and fit-out could reflect a retail brand’s approach to product design and management; and how the changing role of physical stores might influence circularity in fashion retail fit-out design.

In an era increasingly shaped by consumers’ search for meaningful and emotionally engaging experiences, the concept of restorative retail is emerging as a key paradigm in retail and service design. This semi-systematic literature review synthesizes theoretical and empirical research across marketing, environmental psychology, and architecture to examine how physical retail environments can promote psychological restoration and well-being. Drawing on foundational frameworks—Attention Restoration Theory (ART), biophilia, and servicescape theory—the review identifies central design principles such as nature integration, sensory harmony, and spatial openness that underpin restorative experiences. Although evidence supports the restorative potential of retail environments, empirical validation remains limited, particularly across cultural contexts and longitudinal designs. The review concludes by outlining priorities for future research and positioning restorative retail as both a commercial innovation and a societal imperative for enhancing human well-being in an increasingly digitalized world.

Hong Kong’s specialty coffee shops embody a paradox in the city’s cultural landscape. They are products of consumption with atmospheres curated to attract customers while many also draw on “Old Hong Kong” material culture to invoke a sense of care for the past. This paper explores the tension between consumption and responsibility by investigating how coffee shops in Hong Kong mobilise adaptive reuse design practices.

Building on a previous survey of 706 coffee shops, the study identifies four interlinked modes of practice: material reuse, spatial staging, narrative framing, and participatory engagement. These modes enact forms of restorative design, revealing how responsibility emerges across multiple dimensions. By situating these findings within conversations on heritage, nostalgia, and responsibility in design, the paper interrogates the role of cafés in negotiating culture. It demonstrates how these spaces can become sites of restorative practice, in a city driven by rapid urbanisation.

As global cities become increasingly transnational, retail environments have become key sites where mobile publics negotiate belonging through spatial and commercial experience. While transnational consumers are widely theorised, the spatial implications of their participation in global retail remain underexplored. This conceptual paper draws from transnational and diaspora studies to argue that retail design operates as a transcultural interface where familiarity and difference coexist, shaping plural modes of belonging. It proposes the concept, ‘Transnationally Resonant Retail Design’, a conceptual framework outlining how affective resonance, cultural mediation, and social recognition foster civic belonging within commercial spaces. These principles are illustrated by the author’s travel vignettes, drawing from their diasporic positionality to relate resonant and dissonant experiences of retail environments. By reframing retail as socially-responsive infrastructure, the research positions design as an active agent in cultivating belonging across borders, extending global retail discourse beyond localisation toward a more inclusive understanding of transnational spaces.