T-shirts are pretty much a staple of things "churchy." Whether it's a mission trip, a summer camp, vacation Bible school, or anything to do with a youth group, most churches make and distribute tons of shirts. I even went to a t-ball game tonight to cheer on the team from one of my new churches and said after the game, "I've got to get one of these shirts."
One reason t-shirts are so ubiquitous is because they are fairly cheap. But, as with most cheap things, they have many hidden costs. Fast food is cheap but extraordinarily bad for you if eaten regularly. Plastic dinnerware and disposables are cheap, but they are made in toxic ways and take eons to decompose. We've discovered more and more about cheap clothing (and even some clothing that isn't so cheap) being made in sweatshops in developing countries. Most t-shirts also contain dyes and other chemicals that are quite harmful to the environment.
So, what if all churches and camps and youth groups and t-ball teams committed to having green tees only?! It might cost a few more bucks up front, but all the hidden costs would be eliminated. I received a great gift of a green tee in the mail the other day from my friend The Rev. Cody Schuler. Cody is a UM pastor in the Dakotas Annual Conference, and to raise awareness for environmental stewardship they distributed eco-friendly t-shirts. I've worn the shirt now about four times because it's so comfortable. The label (which looks like a nutrition facts label) guarantees no sweatshop labor, no pesticides, no plastic prints, and no harsh resins. The shirt is made from 100% certified organic cotton and was printed using water based inks. It truly is my new favorite shirt, and I think given the choice people would prefer more shirts like this. Cody's group used www.tsdesigns.com for their shirts. Check them out for your next batch.
Thanks Cody, and here's hoping green tees will catch on with church groups of all sizes!
2 comments:
#1 Reason Minnesota Annual Conference is the place to be (off topic):
Item 508
Title: Minnesota United Methodists Going Green
Submitted by and contact: Rev. Justin Halbersma, 507-867-3529, justin.halbersma@alumni.duke.edu; Rev. John Darlington, 507-289-4019 ext. 112, john@cumethodist.com; Rev. Greg Strunk, 507-356-4312, gstrunk@pitel.net
Action: To empower a group under the guidance of the Church and Society Action Team to seek out resources to help Minnesota United Methodist Churches become more eco-friendly. Also giving them the authority to work on the conference’s behalf to negotiate ways we can work together to reduce costs in making our facilities more eco-friendly.
Relationship to the Two Imperatives and Rationale: Whereas: The Minnesota Annual Conference has set before its members the Gospel imperative to Cultivate Spiritual Vitality.
Whereas: Our Creation story shares not only our connection to God, each other, but also to all of creation. How we use our “dominion” over creation connects with our spiritual walks.
Whereas: Our Social Principles state "All creation is the Lord's and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God's creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings." (Discipline, ¶160.I).
Whereas: By creating a team we can work together to confront ways we are not caring for our environment and create ways we can better utilize our resources in caring for the environment.
Whereas: By creating a team we make it part of who we all are and in working together we can create stories that can be shared within our communities.
Implementation:
The authors of the legislation, working closely with Church and Society, Nomination, and Communications will find people who desire to get involved and will get the group started and functioning.
The group will use the communication resources already in place to pass along information gather to the local church on eco-friendly possibilities.
Outcome: Minnesota United Methodists will become more aware of how their consumption and energy usage decisions affect the world around them and their own spirituality. To have people working on behalf of all Minnesota United Methodists in creating ways make it easier to make eco-friendly decisions and lead their congregations in making eco-friendly choices as well.
Resources required: None since it would fall within the budget guidelines under Church and Society action team.
Passed.
that's awesome justin, and i'm particularly happy you were one of the authors. one of my mentors submitted a similar resolution to form a "creation care team" in our annual conference (memphis), and it too passed. i believe i'll be serving on the team, so hopefully we can all share ideas and make all of our conferences "the place to be" - as far as environmental stewardship.
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