Co-designing Sustainable and Dignified NHS Garments

Tools

O'Reilly, Jonathan and Rodgers, Paul and Urquhart, Lewis William Robert and Taylor, Niki and Welsh, Lucy and Winton, Euan and Murden, Sophia (2026) Co-designing Sustainable and Dignified NHS Garments. In: NHS Scotland Event 2026, 2026-09-21 - 2026-09-21, University of Strathclyde. (In Press)

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Abstract

NHS Scotland employs nearly 200,000 staff who wear scrubs daily, yet garment design has remained largely unchanged for over 2 decades. This project reframes scrubs as more than functional clothing, positioning them at the intersection of staff wellbeing, professional identity, and environmental sustainability. Current polycotton scrubs reflect fast fashion characteristics – they are mass-produced, synthetic, and disposable, contributing to poor fit, discomfort, and microplastic pollution. This work explores how co-design and sustainable materials can reshape NHS garments to better reflect public-sector values, improve staff experience, and reduce environmental impact.

ORCID iDs

O'Reilly, Jonathan, Rodgers, Paul ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3149-191X, Urquhart, Lewis William Robert ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9773-8225, Taylor, Niki, Welsh, Lucy, Winton, Euan and Murden, Sophia;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)