San Diego Community College District

Students in San Diego College of Continuing Education’s tuition-free Clothing and Textile Arts (CLTX) program are focused on making fast fashion more sustainable by designing with eco-friendly materials. Soon, they’ll have access to cutting-edge fiber technology that will help them leave an even greener footprint.

While the college already offers cut-and-sew textile industry Career Technical Education (CTE) certificate programs, the skills gained through the upcoming Automation. Innovation. Robotics. (A.I.R.) Skills Technical Trades and Workforce Development Center will prepare graduates as more competitive candidates for employment.

The college’s A.I.R. initiatives will encompass advanced automation, skilled trades, and consumer sciences, to address disparities in these industries incorporating Industry 4.0 and 5.0 level certifications. Phase one of A.I.R. will bring robotic welders to the Educational Cultural Complex and a new CLTX Fiber Technology Lab at West City Campus.

Beginning in fall 2024, the College of Continuing Education will introduce all new programming: Sewn Product Construction Essentials, Advanced Sewing Construction, Industrial Sewing and Manufacturing, Pattern Fitting Technician, Pattern Making For Product Development, Digital Printing, Embroidery and Digitizing, and the Essential Digital Tools for Manufacturing. The new certificates build on the College of Continuing Education’s clothing construction curriculum, which has been offered since 1980.

The idea to create A.I.R. has been in motion for nearly a decade. In 2017, professor Shirley Pierson began modernizing the CLTX curriculum, which had not been touched since the 1980s and had little to no inclusion of digital programming.  

“A CLTX digitally and automated skilled technician will be able to produce textile products in multiple ways,” said Pierson. “Our students are making amazing things but it became clear that our equipment isn't big enough to produce at a sustainable level. The opportunity to introduce advanced technology and to further contribute to the creative economy is exciting.”

The fiber technology lab will house industrial-sized machines to print, cure, and cut synthetic and natural fabrics, permitting entrepreneurial students to produce full-scale goods without wasting product.

The integration of digital machinery is a real advantage for CLTX students like Ainara Calahorra, who took part in the Big Make Capstone “Make it Last” event in May. The capstone — centered on zero waste — invited students to design denim squares to weave into one large tapestry, representing the school’s diverse body and contribution to improving global carbon emissions. In addition to co-constructing the tapestry, Calahorra showcased her sustainable brand, MuXu Creations, which she launched through the former Sewn Products Business program.

While learning to sew, Calahorra interned with Chicana fashion designer and industry advisory committee member, Claudia Rodríguez-Biezunski. “I learned much more than sustainability. I picked up valuable marketing techniques; how to talk about my brand, and how to tell my story,” said Calahorra, who is eager to utilize the new technology.