Sara Milkes Espinosa

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About

Sara Milkes Espinosa is a design researcher and ethnographer whose work critically examines the future of labor, automation, and sustainability within the fashion and digital platform economies. Her research centers on the lived experiences of workers navigating precarious, technology-mediated livelihoods, particularly in the resale and "trash" fashion sectors. Her most cited work, "Trash Work Futures: A Design Fiction" (2022, 7 citations), is a landmark contribution that blends ethnographic fieldwork with speculative design. Based on an ongoing study with fashion resellers in the United States, the paper envisions an ecosystem where workers cooperate with automation and regulatory systems to resell discarded fashion. This work has been influential in human-computer interaction and design studies for its novel method of using design fiction to surface the ethical and social implications of future labor arrangements. Espinosa’s research is notable for centering marginalized voices and challenging techno-optimistic narratives, offering a critical, human-centered perspective on the intersection of waste, work, and technology. Her achievements include advancing participatory design methods and shaping discourse on sustainable futures in platform economies.