Elina Närvänen
I’m a professor of Retailing and Services at Tampere University, and the leader of Wastebusters research group. I’m interested in the circular economy transition especially from the point of view of various human and non-human change-agents, including consumer-citizens and business professionals, but also devices, machines and materials. My areas of expertise are in particular consumer sociology and qualitative research methods such as interviews and ethnography. In my free time, I like to spend time in the forest with my two dogs and play board games with my son.
Malla Mattila
I work as a University Lecturer and Academic Director in the international Master’s Degree Programme in Leadership for Change at the Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University. I’m one of the founding members of the Wastebusters research group. Additionally, I hold the Title of Docent (Associate Professor) in the field of digital and sustainable business at the Business School of Lappeenranta-Lahti Technical University LUT, Finland. In my research, I combine themes from, for example, strategic management, strategic marketing, consumer research, and theories of materiality into business sustainability and circular economy-related research. I aim to promote the development of sustainable business and practices in our society. On my free time, I serve as treasurer for my daughter’s football team and I’m involved in many other activities with my family.
Nina Mesiranta
I work as a University Lecturer in Marketing at Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, and I am also one of the founding members of the Wastebusters research group. I also hold the Title of Docent (Associate Professor) at the University of Vaasa. My scientific background is in marketing and (interpretive) consumer research, and my current research interests focus on how circular economy can be sustainably advanced through transforming practices of stakeholders such as consumers and companies. The role of non-human actors/stakeholders has received also increasing attention in my research. I’ve studied different contexts in CE, such as food waste reduction, plastics and sustainable fashion. In my free time, I like crafts, yoga, and try to care for the (more) fermented family members, i.e. sourdough & kombucha starter.
Mari Ainasoja
I am a PhD researcher, who is interested in circular consumption, especially consumer work, affects and well-being effects connected to it. My background is in marketing and customer research projects carried out in close collaboration with companies. Currently, I spend my free time with the mundane struggles characteristic of families with small children, but I try to find some time for enjoying literature, music and visual arts.
Ines Kaivonen
I am a PhD researcher at Tampere University, in the Faculty of Management and Business, studying sustainability transitions in the fashion industry and the roles various actors, such as social media influencers and companies, play in promoting these transitions. This topic has become a true passion of mine, and I hope to continue working in this field in the future as well. I graduated with a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration in 2019, majoring in marketing. Alongside my doctoral research, I am also interested in entrepreneurship and how I can concretely apply scientific knowledge to benefit the business world. Therefore, I see one of my key missions as promoting science communication in my field, acting as a societal influencer, and engaging in expert communication. In addition to working as a PhD researcher, I am also a mother of two children, which adds a delightful touch to my work life. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, as well as engaging in gym and jogging activities.
Roosa Luukkonen
As a doctoral researcher I am interested in the role of communities in grounding circular economy knowhow in consumers’ everyday life. For example, I’ve studied Dutch repair cafés and an online community for second-hand fashion on Instagram. In my personal life, I enjoy belonging to communities like my large family and diverse women’s sports teams. Similarly, the Wastebusters is an important community for me at the university.
Mikael Nurminen
As a PhD researcher, I study how the Circular Economy could be guided more towards the principles of strong sustainability. I am particularly interested in language and communication as reality-shaping and performative forces. Language reveals, maintains, and reproduces structures that slow down change, but on the other hand, can also guide a very rapid shift, turning trash into fashion and waste into delicacy. In my work, I also utilize methods from historical research and sociology. Additionally, themes related to sufficiency and degrowth are present in my research. In my spare time I am passionate about football and the Eurovision Song Contest.
Ulla-Maija Sutinen
My research interests revolve around (sustainable) consumption, waste and social marketing. My researcher journey began in the Wastebusters group and in 2022 I defended my thesis on the topic of food waste reduction. I am currently working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Faculty of Social Sciences in WasteMatters research project. In the project, my work especially concerns households, and my research is about the mundane waste streams within homes. I mainly spend my free time with my family at home and I am also a member of an improvisational theatre group.
Martta Vänskä
In addition to the group’s research projects, I’m interested in the human relationship with nature and matter (and materials), and various aspects of circular economy, especially circular fashion. My background is in sociology, and I get excited about all new things related to, for example, social media, reducing consumption, and cooking. I spend my free time with crafts and films.
Katri Weckroth
In my PhD research project, I’m examining sustainable food consumption and particularly meat consumption reduction. I’m interested in mundane food consumption practices and the cultural discourses and tensions surrounding them. I’m also interested in the idea of sufficiency and how living a good life within the planetary boundaries could look like also outside food consumption. My background is in business studies and in grocery retail marketing, among others, but I utilise also sociological theories and interdisciplinary sustainability research in my project. I spend my free time dancing, doing yoga and meeting my friends and relatives.
The contact details of the researchers can be found on the Members page!