Amber Martin-Woodhead

Dr Amber Martin-Woodhead is an Assistant Professor in Human Geography within the School of Energy, Construction and Environment.

She is a social scientist and specialises in economic and feminist geography and has an overarching research focus on the geographies of consumption. Her current research centres around 2 key areas: minimalism and sustainable fashion.

Minimalism

Amber is currently conducting research on minimalism (a social movement in which people voluntarily live with a reduced number of possessions) and is interested in how it can encourage both personal benefits and sustainable (non)consumption practices in a time of heightened western consumerism.

Amber is also working with Dr Emma Waight on a project concerned with sustainable practices related to consumer minimalism and parenting.

Sustainable fashion

Amber has conducted research on the sustainable potential of consumer ‘fashion challenges’ and has collaborated with Tearfund to promote their 'Great Fashion Fast’

She is also interested in circular fashion economies and is currently conducting research on fashion brands who specialise in re-purposing post-consumer waste to make garments and accessories.

Amber was awarded an ESRC 1+3 studentship to complete a MSC in Economy, Space and Society and a PhD at the University of Nottingham, which she completed in 2013. The doctoral thesis used a mixed methods approach to explore the social, economic, and feminist geographies of the sex retail industry.

Following her PhD, she took a role as Lecturer in Economic Geography at Queen Mary, University of London, where she taught on globalisation, consumption and economic geography and conducted research on the luxury fashion industry with Professor Louise Crewe (University of Nottingham).

She then worked as quantitative research executive in a market research agency, designing and analysing large scale consumer surveys for clients from the luxury retail and beauty industries.

She joined Coventry University as a lecturer in 2016 and was promoted to Assistant Professor in 2021. She has led many modules focused on economic and feminist geography and also teaches qualitative and quantitative research methods. She maintains her research in minimalism and sustainable fashion and regularly contributes to broadcast and written media on these themes.