Title Pending 1436

This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.This article investigatesdyestuff preference data gathered from researcher Hannah Schofield-Lea's 2023exhibition around the history of dyestuffs in Huddersfield. The exhibition in question was part of the researcher'sMRes into dyestuff experiences in Huddersfield from the 19th century, documenting oral history of dyestuff usage and manufacture in Huddersfield. This topic is importantacross multiple fields, ranging from the environmental sustainability oftextiles to 19th-century colonial trade networks. There is a lack of public history in historicalinvestigations, and this article demonstrates the validity of using anexhibition to source consumer perceptions and preferences around dyestuffusage. Additionally, there is little explorationof using exhibitions to gather consumer data surrounding textile usage andmanufacture, therefore this article is to comment on the researcher's ownexperiences in the hopes of prompting further exhibitions that directly involveattendees. This research aimedto highlight the effectiveness of using a public history approach in gatheringresearch around dyestuff choice, as well as seeing whether there would be amarket available for more costly naturally dyed textiles. Natural dyestuffs are not inherently superiorto synthetic dyestuffs and are not the single solution to extensive pollutionfrom global textile industries. Instead,by understanding consumer's habits and dyestuffs perceptions areas ofunsustainable textile manufacture can be identified, and thus solutions can beformulated.