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Making fashion circular: Jennifer Rojas on why ‘Things Matter’

Close-up image of a red, heart-shaped dish filled with colourful round pin-back buttons featuring various designs, slogans, and graphics, such as

Written byS Popo-Williams
Published date 03 November 2025

As part of this year’s London College of Fashion (LCF) Postgraduate Class of 2025: Fashion Business School Exhibition, MA Fashion Entrepreneurship and Innovation student Jennifer Rojas is inviting visitors to get hands-on with sustainability. Through her social enterprise, Things Matter CIC, Jennifer is hosting a ‘Customisation Station’ during the exhibition’s late opening - an interactive space where anyone can transform a plain t-shirt into something personal and new.

We caught up with Jennifer to talk about circular fashion, community creativity, and what “making things matter” really means.

Collage of three images highlighting DIY fashion and crafting. Top-left shows a close-up of a unique handmade bra covered in various white and off-white buttons, including shell and textured styles, creating a vintage, avant-garde look. Bottom-left features a young woman in a nautical-themed outfit with a sailor-style hat and a cream-colored dress printed with marine creatures like lobsters, standing in front of a window with an urban background. Right image shows a red-haired person crocheting with bright orange yarn, wearing layered jewelry including red bead necklaces, bracelets, and a black tank top with a silver cross necklace. — **Things Matter CIC workshop | Photograph: Darcey Jade Phillips.**

For those who haven’t heard of it yet, what is Things Matter CIC all about?

Things Matter CIC is a non-profit organisation working to implement circular economy practices at a grassroots level. We rescue industry overstock and post-consumer waste, then redirect these materials to emerging designers who specialise in upcycling and local communities through our workshop series. Our aim is to make sustainable fashion and circular practices accessible to everyone, equipping people with the skills they need to embrace circularity within their own wardrobes.

What inspired you to bring the ‘Customisation Station’ to the PG exhibition?

I think sometimes adulthood gets the best of us, we become so caught up in the daily grind and chasing our ambitions that we forget to just sit down and unwind. This particular workshop, upcycling 4 dummies, is the perfect craft activity for complete beginners with no sewing experience required. Working with studs, eyelets, and lino print techniques, people can take time to slow down, get creative, and reconnect with that playful side of themselves, all whilst upgrading their wardrobes.

Side-by-side images showing diverse groups of women engaged in hands-on textile crafting workshops. On the left, three women sit at a well-lit table in a creative studio, one of them demonstrating a technique using deep red yarn or fabric strips while the others observe attentively. Shelves in the background are filled with zines, art supplies, and books, enhancing the DIY atmosphere. On the right, two women sit at a darker-toned workspace, focusing intently on their handwork with monochrome fabrics and a box of crafting tools nearby. — **Things Matter CIC pop-up | Photograph: Taz Blacklaw.**

How does this kind of participatory experience help change the way people think about fashion?

This type of workshop allows people to see their wardrobe in a new light. We always ask participants to bring along an item that's been gathering dust at the back of their closet, because let's be real, we all have those pieces we don't wear but aren't quite ready to part with. By teaching people how to transform their old clothes through simple, low-skill techniques, we hope they'll think twice before throwing things away.

How has your time at LCF shaped your approach to entrepreneurship and sustainability?

I've always been quite sustainably minded, which is why I chose to study MA Fashion Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Like many creatives, I've been practising my craft for years, but monetising it always felt like an uphill battle. The course gave me a full year to deep dive into entrepreneurship, experiment, test out a million ideas, and learn from both the wins and failures with the support of my tutors and classmates.

Collage showcasing a vibrant DIY and alternative art culture through a mix of zine-making, fashion, and self-expression. Top-left quadrant features people at a zine-making table using colorful markers, pins, and a button press. Adjacent are close-ups of handmade books and zines with art prints and experimental layouts. The top-right section shows two individuals in bold, eclectic streetwear—one with red spiked hair and neon clothing, another in dark glam attire—posing outside at night. The bottom row includes a person holding a gothic-style handbag, a punk-styled person beside a rack of custom screen-printed t-shirts, and detailed shots of handmade books with vibrant covers and textures. — **Things Matter CIC | Photograph: Jennifer Rojas.**

What’s next for Things Matter CIC after graduation?

We have a physical store in Finsbury Park (227 Seven Sisters Road, N4 2DA if you want to pop by), so we'll be focusing on building a CIC that's truly shaped by the community it serves. We're looking to expand our offerings and hopefully grow to a point where we can genuinely drive change towards more circular practices in fashion.

Visit the Customisation Station: 'upcycling 4 dummies' during the late opening of LCF's Postgraduate Class of 2025: Fashion Business School Exhibition, 3–8 November 2025, and see how small changes can make a big impact.