Dr. Helen Trejo will be joining us for a special lunch time talk, Exploring Opportunities for Development & Growth in the So Cal Fibershed.
Dr. Helen Trejo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Apparel Merchandising & Management at Cal Poly Pomona. She teaches textile science, apparel construction, and research courses. Her research explores the intersections of fibers, fashion, agriculture, and technology to support a local clothing and textiles economy. She has surveyed and interviewed several U.S. small business owners and entrepreneurs who are part of a farm-to-fashion value chain for sustainable fashion. She has collaborated in several interdisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students to work on sustainable fashion industry projects.
We “discovered” Helen through her efforts with the early stages of the NY Fibershed. She has a lot to share with us, including the background of putting together the first NY Fiber Sourcebook, work in One Year One Outfit, and deep experience with database development, mapping, surveys, farm visits, and consumer studies of locally produced fibers. She’ll share details with us on Tuesday.
Currently at Cal Poly Pomona, she applies a learn by doing approach and is the recipient of a USDA NIFA Hispanic-Serving Institution Grant for 2020-2024 titled “An Experiential Learning Approach: US Wool & Water Re-use for Sustainable Development” (involves Apparel and Civil Engineering students).
Her talk will cover
CA wool production
water recycling to reduce water waste during wool washing/ scouring
the potential for future projects focused on Southern CA Fibershed
USDA sheep and wool census data
other fibers/ natural dyes
urban agriculture
and so much more