Levi’s launches repairs project to empower young people

US denim and apparel company Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) has launched a new clothing repairs initiative aimed at helping high school teens “take fashion into their own hands”.

The Levi’s Wear Longer Project will offer young people hands-on learning, free digital resources, and community-based workshops, designed to share the practical skills needed to extend the life of the clothes they already own.

The initiative follows research from LS&Co. conducted in the US, which reveals that 41 percent of Gen Z report having no basic repair knowledge, such as fixing a tear or sewing a button, which is nearly double the rate of older generations. At the same time, 35 percent of young people say they would keep their clothes longer if they knew how to fix them.

The project’s curriculum, targeting students in grades 9 through 12 in the US, has been developed with global edtech leader Discovery Education and aligned with national K-12 education standards, and will teach young people how to repair and customise their clothes, from sewing a button to patching a hole or tailoring a hem.

Michelle Gass, president and chief executive at Levi Strauss & Co., said in a statement: “At Levi Strauss & Co., we’ve spent more than 170 years designing clothes to be worn and loved for as long as possible. The Levi’s Wear Longer Project builds on that legacy by giving young people the confidence and tools to extend the life of what they already own.

“By building up repair skills within the next generation and emphasising the idea of durability, we’re helping spark a culture of creativity, sustainability, and pride in taking care of the things we value.”

Levi Strauss partners with Discovery Education to launch clothing repair resources

The curriculum, available all year-round, is available to educators and high school students nationwide on a dedicated free platform, wearlongerproject.discoveryeducation.com. For schools using Discovery Education Experience, the cross-curricular supplemental resource, they can integrate Levi’s Wear Longer Project directly into classroom instruction.

Catherine Dunlop, senior vice president of corporate partnerships at Discovery Education, added: “Our partnership with Levi’s reflects the growing demand in schools for curriculum that connects academic learning with real-world, future-ready skills.

“Through the Wear Longer Project, students gain hands-on experience that builds confidence, creativity, and practical life skills while deepening their understanding of complex topics such as supply chain and resource management. This initiative helps prepare students to be thoughtful, capable problem-solvers.”

The project will also see LS&Co. employees serving as volunteer ambassadors, bringing hands-on instruction into schools and local communities. The first of which will take place in Levi’s hometown of San Francisco with a workshop for the city's high school students at the LS&Co. Eureka Lab, before expanding globally. Additional trainings and workshops will continue throughout the year, including activations during Super Bowl weekend in San Francisco.

LS&Co. added that as the Levi’s Wear Longer Project grows, it plans to scale the curriculum through community-based partners and select retail initiatives, “creating more entry points for young people and employees to engage in repair education”.