Staff profile

Helen joined Durham University in 2019, after previously working at the University of Leicester as MSc Marketing programme leader. She also has several years’ experience in buying and design management for retailers and manufacturers in the UK, in liaison with overseas suppliers. She completed her PhD by Published Works at the University of Leicester, on the relationship between product development and sustainable consumption.

Helen’s teaching content focuses mainly on marketing communications and global marketing, with an emphasis on sustainability. She is also a dissertation supervisor. Helen is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and she plays an active part within the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) community, both nationally and regionally. She is interested in embedding sustainability within the curriculum within both her teaching and research. Helen is Chair of the British Academy of Management (BAM) Sustainable and Responsible Business Special Interest Group.

Helen’s research explores influences on buying behaviour (in both organisational and consumer contexts) and the relationships between product development and sustainability, particularly with regard to fashion and textiles. Her experience in industry has led to an interest in contemporary and historical practice and processes within the fashion business, which has been a relatively neglected area of research, despite its significant contribution to the UK economy. She has been a co-investigator in two sustainable clothing research projects funded by the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). She was a member of the organising committee for the ESRC seminar series ‘Ethics in Consumption: Interdisciplinary Perspectives’ and she is co-editing a Special Issue of the Journal of Business Ethics on the same topic.

Helen instigated and organised the Management and Environmental Sustainability (MES) conference in Leicester in 2016 and co-edited a Special Issue of British Journal of Management attached to the event, published in 2-18. She was also a member of the organising committee for the 26th Innovation and Product Development Management Conference (IPDMC) at the University of Leicester in 2019. She is a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Consumer Ethics and a reviewer for several academic journals in the fields of ethics, marketing, retailing, fashion and organisation studies.

Helen is interested in supervising PhD topics that relate to her research interests and teaching, including consumer behaviour; sustainability; design; creative marketing; the fashion and textiles industry; retail buying and supply chain management, in either contemporary or historical contexts.

Helen is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management.

Mini Biography

Helen’s teaching and research explore various aspects of marketing, with specific interests in buying behaviour, product development and sustainability. Helen worked in industry in buying and design management in the clothing industry for several years. She is the author of books on the fashion business, retailing and sustainability.

• Environmental and Energy Economics
• Marketing and International Business

Authored book

• Goworek, H., & Bailey, F. (2025). Creativity and Innovation in the Fashion Business: Contemporary Issues in Fashion Design and Product Development. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003332749
• Henninger, C., Alevizou, P., Goworek, H., & Ryding, D. Sustainability in Fashion: A Cradle To Upcycle Approach. Palgrave
• Goworek, H., & McGoldrick, P. (2015). Retail Marketing Management: Principles and Practice. Pearson Education
• Goworek, H. (2007). Fashion Buying. (2nd edition). Blackwell
• Goworek, H. (2006). Careers in Fashion and Textiles. Blackwell

Chapter in book

• Goworek, H., Oxborrow, L., McLaren, A., Claxton, S., Cooper, T., & Hill, H. Creativity at work and sustainable product development: Practitioner perspectives from the clothing industry. In L. Martin, & N. Wilson (Eds.), Handbook of Creativity at Work (563-582). Basingstoke: Palgrave
• Goworek, H., & Molthan-Hill, P. Embedding CSR within the undergraduate business curriculum. In J. Ahmad, & D. Crowther (Eds.), Education and CSR: International Perspectives (57-76). Emerald
• Goworek, H., Hiller, A., Fisher, T., Cooper, T., & Woodward, S. Consumers’ attitudes towards sustainable fashion. In A. Torres, & M. Gardetti (Eds.), Sustainable Fashion and Textiles (376-392). Greenleaf Publishing
• Goworek, H. Sustainable Marketing. In P. Molthan-Hill (Ed.), The Business Student’s Guide to Sustainable Management 2nd edition (286-315). Shipley: Greenleaf Publishing (Routledge)

Journal Article

• Stephens, V., Benstead, A. V., Goworek, H., Charles, E., & Lukic, D. (2024). Theorising worker voice for supply chain justice – communication, representation and recognition. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, https://doi.org/10.1108/ijopm-06-2023-0528
• Goworek, H., Oxborrow, L., Claxton, S., McLaren, A., Cooper, T., & Hill, H. (2020). Managing sustainability in the fashion business: Challenges in product development for clothing longevity in the UK. Journal of Business Research, 117, 629-641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.021
• Carrington, M., Chatzidakis, A., Goworek, H., & Shaw, D. (2020). Consumption Ethics: A Review and Analysis of Future Directions for Interdisciplinary Research. Journal of Business Ethics, 168(2), 215-238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04473-w
• Goworek, H., Land, C., Burt, G., Saren, M., Zundel, M., Parker, M., & Lambe, B. (2018). Scaling sustainability: Regulation and resilience in managerial responses to climate change. British Journal of Management, 29(2), 209-219. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12295
• Painter-Morland, M., Sabet, E., Molthan-Hill, P., Goworek, H., & de Leeuw, S. (2016). Beyond the Curriculum: Integrating Sustainability into Business Schools. Journal of Business Ethics, 139(4), 737-754. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2896-6
• Goworek, H., Perry, P., & Kent, A. (2016). The relationship between design and marketing in the fashion industry. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 20(3), https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-04-2016-0041
• Goworek, H. (2014). An investigation into retail buying roles and responsibilities for own-label clothing: a multiple case-study. The Journal of The Textile Institute, 105(7), 760-769. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405000.2013.848046
• Goworek, H., Cooper, T., Fisher, T., Woodward, S., & Hiller, A. (2012). The sustainable clothing market: An evaluation of potential strategies for UK fashion retailers. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590551211274937
• Goworek, H. (2011). Social and environmental sustainability in the fashion industry: Case study of a Fair Trade retailer. Social Responsibility Journal, 7(1), 74-86. https://doi.org/10.1108/17471111111114558
• Goworek, H. (2010). An investigation into product development processes for UK fashion retailers: A multiple case study. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 14(4), 648-662. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612021011081805

Report

• Cooper, T., Oxborrow, L., Claxton, S., Goworek, H., Hill, H., & McLaren, A. Strategies to improve design and testing for clothing longevity. [No known commissioning body]
• Fisher, T., Cooper, T., Woodward, S., Hiller, A., & Goworek, H. Public Understanding of Sustainable Clothing. [No known commissioning body]