Levi Strauss & Co. has introduced the Levi’s Wear Longer Project, a new initiative designed to equip young people with practical clothing repair and customization skills. Developed in partnership with Discovery Education, the program will launch in Levi’s home town of San Francisco, beginning with a project workshop for the city’s high school students to be held at Levi’s Eureka Lab. Additional trainings and workshops will continue throughout 2026, including activations during Super Bowl weekend in San Francisco.
The Wear Longer Project provides free resources aimed primarily at students in grades 9 through 12 that are aligned with national K-12 education standards. Schools using the Discovery Education Experience, a cross-curricular supplemental resource, can integrate Levi’s Wear Longer Project directly into classroom instruction. Additionally, as the program expands globally, Levi’s employees will serve as volunteer ambassadors, bringing hands-on instruction into schools and communities.
“Programs like Levi’s Wear Longer Project resonate because they meet students where they are — hands-on, creative and rooted in real life,” said Ginny Fang, President of Spark, San Francisco Schools in a statement. “When students can learn practical skills like repairing and caring for their clothes, they’re not only embracing sustainability, they’re gaining confidence, independence and a sense of pride in what they can create and maintain themselves.”
As the Wear Longer Project expands, Levi’s will scale its curriculum through community-based partners and select retail initiatives, creating more entry points for young people and employees to engage in repair education.
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Severe Lack of Sewing Skills Among Gen Z
A recent survey by Levi’s revealed that 41% of Gen Zers have no basic repair knowledge such as fixing a tear or sewing a button — nearly double the rate of older generations. The survey also revealed that 35% of young people say they would keep their clothes longer if they knew how to repair them.
“By building up repair skills within the next generation and emphasizing the idea of durability, we’re helping spark a culture of creativity, sustainability and pride in taking care of things we value,” said Michelle Gass, President and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. in a statement.
While resale and recycle programs have become more common in recent years, retail-sponsored repair training programs are relatively rare. Several YOOX Net-a-Porter banners introduced a customer care and repair offering in February 2023, and Selfridges launched its “Reselfridges” ecosystem of resale, rental, repair, refill and recycling programs in April 2023 to move closer to its goal of having 45% of its transactions come from circular products and services by 2030.
