Repair for ReUSE Clinic

Repair for ReUSE Clinic

Project Leads: Chelsea Huynh & Michelle La

Project Sponsor: Cal Zero Waste (CZW)

TGIF Grant: $13,620

Project Theme: Waste Diversion & Reduction

Application Submission

Project Description: Inspired by Patagonia’s Worn Wear program and Bay Area Fixit Clinics, Cal Zero Waste, in partnership with UC Berkeley’s student organization ReUSE, proposes to establish a Repair clinic housed in the ReUSE store located at Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union building beginning August 2018 for primarily UC Berkeley affiliated students, staff, and faculty. In compliance with the UCwide Zero Waste by 2020 goal, this project aims to reduce the amount of textile waste accruing from clothing damage by hiring a team under CZW to operate the clinic and collaborate with campus entities to host pop up clinics on campus and in residential halls to teach the campus community how to repair common clothing issues while promoting reuse in support of the zero waste effort at UC Berkeley. There will be drop-in hours for the Repair Clinic at the store during the Clinic staff’s work hours, where students and staff can drop off their damaged clothing for repairs and leave behind their contact information for later pick-up, or learn to repair their clothing themselves. Customers will be emailed and alerted with a pick up window when the repair is complete. Repairs that require more time, materials, or intensive work will be charged a small fee for extra time and supplies needed for the clinic. The Repair Clinic staff will also measure the weights of the clothing repairs to calculate the amount of textile waste diverted from the landfill. A Repair Clinic Coordinator and two Repair Clinic Staff will be hired in Summer 2018 to prepare for the launch of the Clinic at the beginning of the academic year. The end goal of this project is to have Clinic staff work closely with ReUSE to plan how the repair clinic can eventually be incorporated as a volunteer-run service offered by the ReUSE store through the training of ReUSE volunteers in the necessary repair and sewing skills. To ensure that the Repair Clinic can be preserved after the completion of this project, there will be training workshops to train volunteers and biweekly meetings between Cal Zero Waste, ReUSE, and the Repair Clinic Staff.

Project Goals:

  1. Encourage waste reduction through reuse by proposing a solution to alleviate the amount of textile waste produced by the campus community.
  2. Promote sustainable living practices among the campus community, which are critical to active student, staff, and faculty involvement in the zero waste effort.
  3. Provide an educational resource to teach the campus community the skill set for repairing damaged clothing through sewing and other repair techniques.
  4. Provide a local and sustainable alternative to clothing repair, allowing students in the Berkeley community, especially those who are underserved and can’t afford to buy new clothes, to repair their clothes.