Apparel Merchandising and Management Assistant Professor Cindy Cordoba will apply her knowledge in functional apparel design, sustainability, and textile waste reduction to support agricultural workers through a $398,926 state grant from the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program (EHCRP), as a part of the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation.
The funding will support the co-design, production, and distribution of the first 100 HeatShield garments to farmworkers in Southern California. These garments aim to protect a labor force that is 35 times more likely to die from heat exposure than those in other professions.
This story was originally published by on June 30, 2025.