On a recent February afternoon, students gathered in the Dana Building for a mending event organized by the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) Trash Club. Hosted by SEAS students since Fall 2023, the mending events serve as an opportunity for students to come together in community while learning a skill that has tangible benefits for themselves and the planet. 

According to an NPR Lifekit episode about buying less stuff, about 75% of the U.S. economy is consumer spending, mostly on clothes and fashion items. The episode discusses the value of buying fewer clothes for personal benefit as well as to reduce emissions from the fashion industry, which is responsible for between 4% and 8.6% of global carbon emissions, according to the NRDC. Purchasing high-quality clothes and repairing old clothes is one way each of us can reduce our consumption from this industry and play a role in reducing fashion emissions. 

Additionally, according to SEAS Professor Shelie Miller, many fabrics are made with plastics derived from natural gas that release plastic fibers into wastewater with every wash, which makes the importance of buying fewer clothes and repairing high-quality fabrics even important. Her research also shows that one effective way that people can reduce the environmental impact of the products they consume is by extending the life of the products through repair or mending. To find ways to combat the high emissions and pollution rates of the fast-fashion industry, SEAS students developed these mending events to promote the idea of buying fewer clothes to their peers and bringing new life into old clothes that need repair. 

At the mending event in February, participants were taught simple stitches by second-year SEAS student Sarah Davis, who was just as excited to be teaching these skills as the participants were to be learning them. Davis, who specializes in Behavior, Education and Communication (BEC), has been sewing most of her life and grew up feeling it was important to use one’s hands to make tangible items. Many of her mending-specific skills are self taught, but as a former educator Davis finds herself in the role of sharing these skills with her peers. 

“I came [to this event] because I love sustainability and reusing clothes, and I want to learn how to make my thrift finds more wearable,” said Program in the Environment (PitE) student Reaghan Higgins. “I’ve never had a lesson in mending or sewing before.”

Between stitches, Davis gave participants time to practice each new skill on fabric scraps she prepared for the event. Typically, students bring all kinds of items to be mended, ranging from shirts and sweatshirts to duvet covers and tote bags. 

One of the primary reasons mending events are organized “is to foster active hope in SEAS students,” explained organizer Bridget Damon, a second-year SEAS student whose specializations are BEC and Sustainability and Development. “We want to remind students that it’s a positive opportunity to foster community engagement and mitigate resource loss at the same time. And there’s such a rewarding feeling and sense of pride that comes with being able to say, ‘I fixed this myself.’”

Jason Krick, a second-year SEAS student specializing in BEC and Ecosystem Science and Management (ESM), has organized many mending events. He seconded Damon’s sentiments. “I get a lot of joy out of organizing these events, mostly because it’s exciting that people learn a new skill and grow in confidence as they help others and continue to utilize it.” 

Before becoming involved in mending events, Krick didn’t realize how much of a social aspect there was to mending, and notes how he enjoys watching people come together over fabric and clothing, such as second-year ESM student McKenna Johnson. “I like to come to these events to support my friends and talk with new people,” said Johnson. “It’s also exciting that we are learning how to keep our favorite clothes.”

SEAS and PitE students weren’t the only attendees at the mending event. Madeline Hennessey, a PhD student in the U-M English Department, brought a torn duvet cover she was hoping to learn to repair. Hennessey does research on textiles in literature, and wanted to have hands-on experience working with textiles and mending. “Textiles tell stories and keep memories,” she said, “and being able to do work with textiles in a communal space feels very tangible, like you are accomplishing something of value.”

Originally, SEAS mending events were organized as a final project for the EAS 661: Conservation Behavior course taught by Krick, fellow SEAS students Renee Magyar and Kendall Koenen, and SEAS graduate Katie Plaxe (MS/MBA ’24). Reflecting on the mending events’ beginning at SEAS, Krick noted, “We had no idea what to expect. We booked one conference room on the fourth floor [of Dana], and over 60 people showed up in two hours. We were astounded at how many people were excited about this kind of event, and it was insightful for us to see how many participants stayed around after their clothes were mended to commune with their peers and help others mend.”

At the end of the Fall 2023 semester, students in the PitE course, ENV 391: Sustainability and the Campus, organized a few mending events throughout the Winter 2024 semester. Krick and Magyar served as co-project advisors to the team of student organizers. With these events experiencing similar success, Damon proposed continuing the events in Fall 2024 as a part of the EAS 568: Reconnection and Revitalization seminar, alongside other SEAS students Meredith King and KT Meono. 

“The purpose of the class was to actually do something in practice. We focused on learning as we go, and not letting the idea of failure stop us,” explained Damon. “This applied to the menders and event participants, but it also applied to the organizers. We learned alongside the participants, and the events we were facilitating morphed from doing repairs for people and having a space to experience community to a space for collaboration, brainstorming and teaching.”

After being sponsored by SEAS and PitE courses for three semesters, the mending events are now sponsored by the SEAS Trash Club, a student organization focused on learning about and implementing circular economy. Organizers are excited about the opportunity to continue this work and hope to see skill-sharing events like this expand within the SEAS community.