Empowering Student Changemakers

To combat the 11.3 million tons of textile waste Americans discard annually, the SJF Repair Center project had UC Irvine students launch a dedicated Repair Center where the campus community can learn to fix and upcycle garments instead of throwing them away. By creating a hands-on space for sustainability skills development, this initiative is transforming our campus’s culture around consumption and demonstrating how UC Irvine can model circular economy principles for future students.