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There’s no denying that the environment is crucial. We’ve been seeing headlines upon headlines of the disastrous effects of climate change and treating our Earth poorly. Whether it be protecting our wildlife or saving the Rainforests, it all needs to be taken seriously. We live in this world, so why not take care of it? And this is all exactly what so many celebrities believe.
From legendary starlets like Bette Midler to some of our Man Crush Mondays (remember those?) like Brad Pitt, there are a plethora of celebrities “fighting the good fight” as they say. Many have founded their own sustainable, environmentally conscious companies and some have taken on initiatives to fix a certain environmental issue — we love it all.
While we all can do our part, celebrities have more attention than most, thus more power to shine a light on different issues. Two-time Oscar-winning actress and lifelong activist Jane Fonda put it perfectly in an article for the Guardian. “I don’t mean to cast myself as a hero: the simple calculation is that my age and celebrity secures the kind of national and global press attention that the cause needs.”
Check out some of our favorite celebrities that have done ongoing work to protect the environment.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman has been a huge advocate for veganism and animal rights, so much so that her environmental work was recognized with the EMA Ongoing Commitment Award, an award typically given to different figures who’ve helped different environmental issues on an ongoing basis.
Penelope Cruz
Back in 2007, Penelope Cruz launched the Red Carpet/Green Cars initiative with Global Green USA, which assists shuttling celebrities around in cars with over 30 alternative fuel vehicles types.
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek is a board member of Global Green USA. Due to her childhood, water conservation is very important to her so she frequently speaks on the subject. Back in 2011, she also co-hosted the Bid to Save Earth to raise awareness. And on a personal level, she uses solar panels and drives hybrids.
Jane Fonda
One of the most well-known, celebrity environmentalists is obviously, Jane Fonda. From donating to advocating, Fonda wants the world to be a better place. Some of her notable projects have been shunning fash fashion and has gotten arrested for her protesting.
Gisele Bündchen
Gisele Bündchen has always loved wildlife and saving the environment. Not only did she recently make a powerful post about saving the turtles, but she joined the U.N.’s “Wild for Life” campaign, where she chose a sea turtle as her “kindred species.” Along with that, she’s raised awareness, wrote an essay about listening to nature for HuffPost, and has promoted books on the subject.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio is arguably one of the biggest Hollywood star advocates with environmental issues. Everyone remembers his iconic 2016 speech at the Oscars when he talked about climate change. And way before that, in 1998, he founded the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which helps fund initiatives around the world that want to help fight climate change. Since then, he’s partnered to produce different environment documentaries, one of which being Before The Flood.
Ian Somerhalder & Nikki Reed
Actors and lovers Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed are a lot of things: including environmentalists. Over a decade ago, Somerhalder got involved in the clean-up after the Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster. From writing op-eds to visiting the site, he has a soft spot for conservation. He also launched the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which educates and collaborates with people for positive, environmental impact. And Reed owns a sustainable jewelry brand called Bayou With Love and is working to convert air pollution to jewelry.
Emma Watson
Emma Watson is all about eliminating fast fashion. A decade ago, Watson created a collection with designer Alberta Ferretti called Pure Threads, which only used sustainable materials. She’s supported many organizations and vowed to only wear sustainable clothing on the red carpet.
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo is never afraid to say what’s on his mind. Specifically, with environmental issues, Ruffalo has hosted a Toxic Tour to show hidden drill sites and even founded Water Defense, a New York-based organization working to ban hydraulic fracturing in the Empire State.
Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell has done a bunch, like many of her A-list friends. She’s been a spokesperson for The Nature Conservancy, Charity: Water, and Tide’s Clean Pledge. Also, she and her husband Dax Shepard founded a plant-based baby-care line called Hello Bello.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Seinfeld and Veep starlet Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a huge political activist and always fights for the environment. Over the years, she’s donated millions to a plethora of environmental charities and worked on Proposition O, which allocated half a billion dollars to clean up California water.
Rachel McAdams
Back in 2007, Rachel McAdams launched the website called “Green is Sexy” where she’d teach people how to live an eco-friendly lifestyle, but it is no longer available. However, she’s continued supporting charities like Greenpeace and Small Steps Project, to name a couple.
Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett is an ambassador of the Australian Conservation Foundation, which led her and her husband Andrew Upton to redo the Sydney Theatre Company to do an environmental makeover called Greening the Wharf. Plus, Blanchett will always talk about climate change questions with her kids.
Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson has been a huge environmentalist over the years. Back in 2008, she was also honored by the EMA for her ongoing advocacy. Recently, in 2019, she acted, produced, and narrated the documentary The Need to Grow, which discusses the importance of healthy soil.
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt once co-created a design competition to build twenty affordable, lower-energy, environment-friendly homes. He did a plethora of things as he advocated for the additional one percent of the U.S. budget to go towards supplying Africa with basic needs, helping with natural disaster clean-up, and more.
Bette Midler
Longtime legend Bette Midler is a huge environmentalist to put it lightly. Her most notable work was nearly thirty years ago when she founded the New York Restoration Project, which focuses on beautifying NYC.
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan undeniably has a green thumb and an environmentalist’s heart. He’s contributed millions of dollars to the NRDC, Oceana’s Ocean Council, and more. He even uncovered Iceland’s illegal whaling industry, which got him into the Environmental Hall of Fame.
Edward Norton
Oscar-nominated actor Edward Norton has worked with a plethora of organizations such as Harlem Grown, a sustainable food initiative for youth; co-founded the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, an organization that works on overall environmental change; and much more.
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is all about awareness. She co-founded the company Conscious Commerce, a creative company that works to create sustainable products that are better for the environment.
Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck, like many stars, founded some amazing environmental companies. Affleck co-founded the Eastern Congo Initiative, which solely helps the people of Congo to get basic needs and a better environment.
Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep’s been working on environment advocation back in the 1980s when she started advocating for the Natural Resources Defense Council or NRDC. Since then, Streep hasn’t stopped and taken on a plethora of initiatives.
Channing Tatum
Channing Tatum is not only a hunk but a huge environmentalist. While he’s done many things for advocating, he’s mainly done a lot of work with an organization called PlantMed, which works with indigenous peoples in the Amazon and helps fix the Rainforest.
Shailene Woodley
Shailene Woodley has done a lot of advocating for the environment, so much so that she got arrested. Back in 2016, Woodley was arrested during a protest of the North Dakota pipeline issues.
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