Some information…and an invitation                       

How toxic are your clothes?

By Marian Christjaener of the Creation Care Team of Peace Lutheran Church

My family reminded me often that I was rather persnickety about what clothes I would wear even as a preschooler. They had to be non-itchy, and they had to feature the color black. One photo from that time reveals a scrunched-up face as an offending collar was “attacking” my neck, while another photo shows a very pleased expression because black was prominent in my fancy dress.

These days, my clothing choices are guided more by what their fabric is doing to the environment. While I am not tossing out everything in my closet, I try to pay attention to the contents and the manufacturing process of the clothes that I purchase. When you put on a piece of clothing, have you considered the entire process that occurs before, during, and after it is part of your wardrobe?

Extraction of raw materials – Synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon, acrylic, and elastane (Lycra and Spandex) are petroleum-based, which can more than double the carbon footprint of a piece of clothing that is comparable to one made with cotton. However, regular cotton is treated with pesticides and fertilizers that degrade the soil and contaminate water, and even organic cotton needs a great amount of water during its growing season.

Manufacturing – The chemicals used to produce wrinkle-free, stain-resistant, waterproof, and odor-resistant clothing include PFCs, fire retardants, and formaldehyde. Natural fabric that is sourced from tree pulp is also often heavily treated with chemicals in order to soften it. These and the dyes used to color our clothes cause further damage to our environment.

Distribution – By the time a new item of clothing has reached you, it has been packaged (often in plastic), probably transported in container ships from overseas, and then trucked to a distribution center from which it will take another trip to a store or be loaded onto a van that delivers it to your house.

Consumption – Whenever petroleum-based clothing goes into your washing machine, microplastics and other pollutants eventually end up in our waterways. Microplastics have been found in the deepest parts of the ocean (and in the fish we consume) as well as in snow near the top of Mt. Everest.

Disposal – Many fabrics are a blend of synthetic and natural materials, which means that they will most likely not biodegrade. This is also true of clothing that is made from recycled water bottles. And, unfortunately, many of the clothes that are donated to charities end up in landfills (such as the one in the Atacama Desert in Chile) where they release greenhouse gases and leach toxins into the soil and the water.

Taken in its entirety, the fashion industry is reported to be the second highest source of pollution to air, ground, and water, and it is responsible for 8–10% of the world’s carbon emissions. So, what can you do about the harm caused by your clothing?

• Wash your clothes less frequently and wait until you have a full load. A full load results in less friction and, thus, less shedding of microfibers.
• Use filters for your washing machine or purchase specially-made bags that “capture” microfibers.
• Avoid fast fashion that entices consumers into thinking that they need the “latest and greatest” trends of cheap clothing that cycles quickly through stores and online sources.
• If you have favorite brands, ask the companies about everything that takes place in their supply chain, including how workers are treated.
• Buy used clothing or participate in clothing swaps.
• Look for these certification labels: bluesign, Oeko-Tek, and GOTS. These labels generally ensure less environmental impact and more sustainable practices by the textile manufacturers.
• Shop for clothing made from eco-fabrics such as hemp, flax, and TENCEL; while the production of clothing from these fabrics can also be energy intensive, the fabrics themselves are natural.

GA_TextilesReport_Final_0.pdf (greenamerica.org)

Can fashion ever be sustainable? – BBC Future

For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team

Some Information … and an Invitation:  Throw away our Throwaway Culture!

by John Fueger of the Creation Care Team at Peace Lutheran Church

My wife has a subscription to a magazine titled Yes!, a nonprofit publication that focuses on solutions journalism. As time was fleeting to write this article, she offered me a copy of Yes! from Summer, 2021 that focuses on solving the plastic crisis. The issue is a fascinating read, from a comic-book type article “How to Get Rid of Throwaway Culture” to an in-depth article, “Don’t Let Consumerism Co-opt the Zero-Waste Concept,” that questions why consumers bear the burden of single-use packaging disposal rather than manufacturers.

Due to my interest in the magazine, my thoughts for the article that you’re reading now quickly shifted from detailing the impact of microplastics on the environment and providing links to personal plastic usage calculators to what each of us can do to change the throwaway culture.

What’s Happening?

As my wife reminds me, there is no such thing as “away.” However, I think my notion of “away” was impacted by a science fiction television show I watched on a simple black and white television as a child, Space: 1999. The starting premise of that show was that humankind was producing so much nuclear waste that we were sending it to the moon. That premise doesn’t sound as far-fetched today as it did in 1975 after what humanity has collectively done to our planet. But I digress….

Yes! author Sarah Lazarovic cites a World War II credo “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!” to reduce waste. She goes further to develop what she terms the Buyerarchy of Needs (apologies were given to Maslow). That hierarchy begins with the simple concept of using what you already have, which very much resonated with me. She goes on to state, “We’ve been marketed to death with ideas of maximalist abundance. Instead of the most you can get, think about the least you can get by with.” Taking this type of advice to heart in today’s culture is a difficult challenge at best. We are constantly inundated with email and targeted advertising directly or indirectly promoting consumption. That continuing consumption feeds throwaway culture. What if we at least assessed our consumption through the lens of this hierarchy? Would our purchase decisions be changed or perhaps at least delayed?

I would also add one initial step to the Buyerarchy of Needs: Wait a day or two before moving forward to address perceived needs. I find that waiting a few days once I’ve made a decision that I need something allows me to better reflect on that perceived need and, in some cases, allow myself to realize that I don’t need the item at all.

What Can I Do?

When you need something or it’s time to make a purchase, consider the Buyerarchy Of Needs.

Use Lazarovic’s No-Throwaway Checklist to change your habits. Consider adding a new item each week or month to swap or reuse or mend.

• I will swap or borrow at least ____________ things instead of buying them.
• I will switch to reusable ____________ and ____________.
• I will finally fix / mend that ____________ instead of buying a new one.

Play A Game!

Place a small jar for each member of your family in a convenient place. Every time someone throws away an item that could have been reused, repurposed, or replaced with a longer-lasting alternative, they have to throw a penny (or more!) in their jar. After a week, count the coins. Unlike regular banking, the one with the fewest coins wins!

Be Creative!

Make art or a useful item from items you’d normally toss; there are lots of ideas online, like this: Trash to Treasure: 40 Creative Recycled and Repurposed Artworks | Inspirationfeed

Changing a throwaway mindset is a powerful thing all of us can do for the environment and ourselves … for God’s good creation.

https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/solving-plastic/2021/05/10/how-to-get-rid-of-throwaway-culture

For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team

Saturday, May 6th, 2023

1:00 pm

at the West Seattle Nursery

Come to the Peace Pollinator Project Seminar with native plants expert Kyle Henegar and learn how to use native pollinator plants at your house to support the birds, bees and beetles we need to make our landscapes thrive and feed us all.

Bring friends!

For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team

The RainWise program hosting a Garden Celebration at Peace Lutheran Church!

Come learn about RainWise and meet contractors  on April 22^nd from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

We are so excited for this event for our neighbors in Sunrise Heights, Westwood, Fauntleroy, and Arbor Heights! This event is produced by the RainWise Program and features garden experts of all sorts and will benefit all Seattle residents with an interest in gardening.

You will:

• be able to talk to an array of gardening, rainwater catchment and composting experts,
• go on a garden tour to see a RainWise rain garden in action,
• get resources from Noxious Weeds, Natural Yard Care, Adopt-a-Street, National Wildlife Federation,
• explore funding opportunities for rain gardens, cisterns, and other green infrastructure solutions,
• talk with homeowners who have been through the RainWise installation process, and
• meet with different RainWise contractors and have the chance to ask questions specific to your homes.

There will be activities for kids and refreshments available!

Register at https://raingardencelebration.eventbrite.com. See you there!

About RainWise Rebates: With every storm, rain carries pollutants off our roofs, driveways, and other hard surfaces to local creeks, Lake Washington, and Puget Sound. Rain gardens and cisterns can help control this stormwater, but we need your help! In selected areas of Seattle, the City of Seattle and King County will pay up to 100 percent of the cost of installing rain gardens and cisterns on homeowners’ properties.

We recommend you check your eligibility for a RainWise rebate at https://700milliongallons.org/rainwise/eligibility.

—- More details below ———————————————————————————————————————–

RainWise, a partnership between King County Wastewater Treatment Division and Seattle Public Utilities, has a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

The West Seattle neighborhoods around Sunrise Heights, Westwood, Fauntleroy, and Arbor Heights are eligible for RainWise rebates – again!

In 2013, King County joined the RainWise program, and parts of West Seattle became eligible for rebates that pay for rain gardens and cisterns on private properties. By capturing the rain that falls on roofs, these installations help keep stormwater out of the sewer system and prevent overflows at the Barton Pump Station near the Fauntleroy ferry dock. After five years in the program, almost 150 properties put in rain gardens and cisterns that manage the equivalent of rain falling on five acres of roofs. In addition, 15 blocks of highly engineered roadside rain gardens were put in to let rain washing down streets and sidewalks to soak into the ground. All of this has really helped but as we look to a future of heavy rains and atmospheric rivers, we would love more help to manage the rain in this area.

How does RainWise help? During heavy rains, the sheer volume of polluted stormwater can cause our combined sewers to overflow. This negatively impacts human health and the health of marine life, such as salmon and orcas. We can reduce this water pollution by installing green stormwater infrastructure solutions, such as rain gardens and cisterns. This is where RainWise comes in.

What is RainWise? RainWise is a rebate program jointly run by King County Wastewater Treatment Division and Seattle Public Utilities. RainWise rebates help property owners manage the rain by installing cisterns and/or rain gardens on their private property. This not only helps reduce stormwater pollution, but mitigates flooding, adds attractive landscaping, and can provide water for summer irrigation.

You can check your eligibility for rebates at 700milliongallons.org/rainwise/eligibility. And, for addresses not eligible for RainWise, Green Stormwater Mini-Grants are available as well at 12000raingardens.org/gsi-mini-grants.

To learn more, please attend our upcoming RainWise Garden Celebration at Peace Lutheran Church where you can talk to various RainWise, sustainability, and garden experts to learn about the program. There will be tours of Peace Lutheran’s RainWise installation, refreshments, and activities. This is a family-friendly event!

Saturday, April 22nd, 10 am – 1 pm

Peace Lutheran Church, 8316 39th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98136. Register at https://raingardencelebration.eventbrite.com

Not eligible? Feel free to reach out to us! We are happy to help provide you with resources. Check out 12000raingardens.org/about-rain-gardens/incentives to see what other programs are available to you.

For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team

 Sunday, February 26, 2023   

             Noon – 1:30  

Led by Reverend AC Churchill (they/them),

        Executive Director of Earth Ministry/WAIPL  

Hosted by PLC’s Creation Care Team 

Chili Lunch provided by the Creation Care Team 

Advocacy Basics

This training will primarily cover the basics of advocacy:

• an advocacy overview 
• the attributes and impacts of faithful advocacy 
• what faithful advocacy looks like in action 

Storytelling

Additionally, we’ll be learning how at its core, faithful advocacy is storytelling, which is something people of faith already know how to do.  You will learn the Earth Ministry/WAIPL’s faithful advocacy recipe and have an opportunity to practice sharing your story as it relates to one of our 2023 Legislative Priorities. 

 Faith Into Action 

You do not have to be an environmental expert to participate. Your story, your faith, your concern for the wellbeing of our world is enough to begin working for environmental justice. So come and learn about how to put your faith into action for a just and sustainable future! 

 All Are Welcome! 

For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team

For more on Earth Ministry / Washington Interfaith Power & Light: Earth Ministry – Stewardship of the earth

—– Post-event Update from Reverend Churchill: —————–

“

For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team

At its Annual Meeting on January 29, 2023, Peace congregation approved the Creation Care Team (CCT) Action Plan 2023-2029, to make Peace Lutheran carbon neutral by 2030.  You can find the actions planned for 2023 here: Peace Lutheran Church 2023 Climate Action Plan

For the ultra adventurous and curious, you can find the whole five year plan here: Peace Lutheran Church 2023-2029 Climate Action Plan 12-6-22

To view a presentation of the action plan, see the video below.

For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team

The Creation Care Team would love to have congregation members weigh in on how our budget dollars are allocated among three carbon offset projects:

• Reforestation via handmade cookstoves in Malawi, Africa, benefitting about 200,000 people by improving livelihood, preventing deforestation and reducing respiratory diseases, burns and greenhouse gas emissions (UN Project 9935)
• A solar power plant in India providing clean power to the Indian grid and both permanent and temporary local jobs (UN Project 7088)
• Burgos Wind Project generating clean energy in the Philippines, helping the livelihood of communities, partnering with local government agencies, and responding to the needs of the residents in times of disasters (UN Project 7980)

Look for our Creation Care bulletin board display in the Narthex. We’ll be inviting sticker voting after church on November 13th and 20th. Or you can tell us your preferences electronically before Nov. 20th by clicking https://forms.gle/BTTLVeYRwZaGL17B6.

For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team

As an extension of this year’s SEASON OF CREATION THEME: ROOTED, we have arranged with the Duwamish Alive Coalition to take a GUIDED TOUR OF THE ROXHILL BOG on SATURDAY, JUNE 25, from 10:00 to 11:30. 

The BOG serves as the headwaters of Longfellow Creek, a tributary of the Duwamish.  Urbanization and climate change have caused damage to the urban watershed, and efforts are ongoing to restore the area.

Our Duwamish Alive Coalition tour guides are also offering a PRE-TOUR ZOOM on THURSDAY, JUNE 23, at 7:00 PM. This will enable you to find out about the history of the bog and view a number of explanatory graphics before you take the tour.

During the second weekend of September, we hope to participate in the restoration with our annual God’s Work Our Hands project.

Directions for signing up for either or both of the events will be posted soon.

For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team

CREATION CARE AND CARBON NEUTRALITY

At our congregational meeting on January 30, 2022, the Creation Care Team of Peace will present a resolution on carbon neutrality for consideration.  The text of the resolution and the background leading to its creation can be found here: Resolution 2022-1 carbon neutrality

To PREVIEW the Video introducing the resolution, click below.

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For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team

Welcome to Peace – We’re glad you’re here.

As part of our Season of Creation: Rivers series in June 2021, we asked author and river advocate BJ Cummings and Duwamish Tribal leader and riverkeeper James Rasmussen to share with us some of their deep knowledge and hard-won wisdom about Seattle’s only River–the Duwamish.  The result is the recording below.

For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team