Cindy Cordoba, assistant professor of apparel merchandising and management at Cal Poly Pomona, was recently awarded a $398,926 Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program grant as part of the state’s Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program. Cordoba will use it to develop new apparel meant to keep agricultural workers safe during harsh working conditions.

Cordoba will design, produce, then distribute the first 100 HeatShield garments to Southern California agricultural workers, according to cpp.edu/news. “The garments are intended to protect a workforce that faces unique occupational health risks — they are 35 times more likely to die from heat exposure than workers in other industries.”

Work will involve Cordoba, her students and fellow CPP professor Helen Trejo, and include interviews and workshops with farmworkers, heat mapping and garment blueprint creation, and data analysis.

“The design process moves away from fast fashion models by focusing on durability, ease of disassembly, and responsible material choices, all of which help extend the garment’s lifecycle and reduce post-consumer waste,” Cordoba wrote in a statement.

Cordoba’s project began on May 30 and is expected to run through December 2027. More info is at cpp.edu.