[Berkeley Fire Station, No. 4] Station 10: Jesus' clothes are taken away

We may not immediately see the connection between clothes and climate change but it is significant. Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity's carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams. What's more, 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year (UNECE, 2018), and washing some types of clothes sends significant amount of microplastics into the ocean. The industry belches out 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year, more emissions than the shipping and aviation industries combined! The World Economic Forum identified fashion, and its supply chain, as the planet’s third largest polluter (after food and construction). 

We all need something to wear, to keep us warm, and protect us from the elements. But unlike Jesus, whose clothes were taken away, most of us own vastly more clothing items than we need or could ever fully use. The impact of the clothes we have taken into our own closets is that the earth is groaning, forests are being denuded, and temperatures are increasing at an alarming rate. This is happening even as we cover ourselves up many times over. Berkeley Fire Station Number 4 is one of many first responder sites to fires and health emergencies triggered by climate change. Lord have mercy.

Station 10: Jesus’ clothes are taken away (Berkeley Fire Station, No. 4)