05/22/2026
By Gloria Donkor

The College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Global Studies program invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Gloria Donkor on "It Doesn’t Just Go Away: An Analysis of Recycling Through the Lens of a Textile Disposal Ban."

Date: Monday, June 8, 2026
Time: 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. EST
Location: This is a virtual defense. Please contact Gloria_Donkor@student.uml.edu for Zoom link.

Committee: Chair: Aaron Smith Walter, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Political Science Department, Interim Director, MPA Program, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Angelica Duran-Martinez, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Political Science Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Patrick Young, Ph.D., Associate Professor, History Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Abstract: This three - paper dissertation focused on the overview of the textile recycling sector through a textile disposal ban. The dissertation was mixed method research that combined used clothing management stakeholder interviews, student surveys and, consumer perception data to offer a multi - actor, multi - location framework for understanding recycling. This dissertation contributes to the literature on recycling by providing a multi-stakeholder analysis to demonstrate how recycling is not a simple nor local act. Rather, it is a global process with sometimes uneven consequences, and this shapes how different people understand it. Since the textile disposal ban is the first of its kind in the United States, the dissertation also contributes to the literature on textile disposal bans in addressing environmental challenges.