Levi’s is expanding its Levi’s Wear Longer Project to Europe, bringing its clothing repair education initiative to young people and communities in London and Paris.
Launched in January 2026, the initiative is designed to give the next generation practical skills to care for, repair, and customise the clothes they already own. It has reached nearly 90,000 young people in the US this year through hands-on learning, digital resources and community workshops.
The European expansion follows new Levi’s research indicating that Gen Z has a strong interest in clothing repair, with 43% saying they are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ interested in repairing clothes or learning how to do so. However, Gen Z and millennials also report the lowest levels of basic repair knowledge, highlighting a gap between interest and practical skills.
Paul Dillinger, VP of design innovation at Levi’s, said: “Bringing the Wear Longer Project to Europe, starting with two of the most creative and dynamic cities in the world, gives us a great opportunity to provide more young people with skills they can use to extend the life of their garments, express who they are, and pass the lessons on to others.”
The programme will launch through employee ambassador training and hands-on learning experiences, co-led by Levi’s and education technology business Discovery Education. Levi’s employees will be trained as volunteer ambassadors, bringing repair and customisation sessions into local communities.
United Repair Centre (URC), a social enterprise and long-standing Levi’s repair partner, will support the hands-on learning experiences in both cities.
In Paris, the programme will also connect repair education with professional repair services at selected Levi’s stores. The service will initially roll out at selected locations before expanding to additional stores across France by the end of the year, building on a partnership already established in Belgium.
“At United Repair Centre, we are building a movement of brands and customers, transforming the apparel industry for the better and flipping the script from consumption to responsible ownership of our clothes,” said URC founder Thami Schweichler.
Alongside the physical workshops, free digital resources will provide step-by-step repair and customisation lessons and video tutorials. French-language closed captions have also been added to the tutorials, increasing access for French-speaking learners and educators.
The Wear Longer Project has so far engaged students, educators, employees and community partners across the US. London and Paris represent its next stage of international expansion, with Levi’s positioning repair education as a way of helping consumers keep garments in use for longer.
Wear Longer Project: Levi’s ramps up clothing repair education for students
[image credit: Green Retail World]
