When the red carpet goes green

A Celebrity World

We now live in a world, which is full of influencers and celebrities, who endorse all sorts of products, from energy drinks to make-up and of course, fashion. But unfortunately much of what we see advertised online and in magazines isn’t particularly good for our planet, rather, it perpetuates the mass consumption machine we live in. In our busy modern lives we need quick fixes to satisfy our emotional needs, that’s why we shop excessively like we do and because we consume so much we need items that are cheap: which really means poorly manufactured clothing, often exploiting other people all over the globe. Celebrities and influencers often don’t realise the amazing power they possess to change the world through the actions of their adoring fans. Some however do…

Pioneering Celebrities

One of the most influential and pioneering eco-celebs is mega star Leonardo DiCaprio, who has been campaigning for many years for the protection of the planet and highlighting the effects of climate change. Our very own “King and Queen of Wales”, aka Michael Sheen and Charlotte Church have also been supporting some amazing causes throughout their careers. For example, Sheen as Ambassador of Keep Wales Tidy and being a patron of many social and environmental organisations, to Church’s political activism and her most recent efforts at The Awen Project, which she set up to address the limitations of the modern education system. Amazing!

But back to fashion for a moment… Emma Watson, who is not only the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador campaigning for women’s rights all over the globe but is also one of the most pioneering sustainable fashionistas out there! During 2015 she signed up for Eco Age’s: Green Carpet Challenge®, which means every item worn on any red carpet must be sustainable. Not only does Watson chose to wear sustainable fashion and accessories but she also widely promotes this to her adoring fans through her separate Instagram account @the_press_tour, which provides detailed information about what she is wearing and who each item is made by. Many of her costumes for Beauty and the Beast were also made sustainably with her infamous Belle ball-gown created using end-of-line fabric, otherwise known as textile waste.

Green Fashion : Red Carpets

The Green Carpet Challenge® started back in 2010 by Livia Firth who wore sustainable outfits to accompany her husband Colin on the red carpet and is now a global campaign supported by world famous designers and celebrities. The GCC is not the only sustainable fashion campaign challenging celebrities to make more responsible choices, Red Carpet, Green Dress was set up by Suzy Amis Cameron 10 years ago to highlight the importance of making more sustainable fashion choices. She achieved this by challenging attendees of The Academy Awards® in Los Angeles to wear Oscar® worthy sustainable fashion on the red carpet. But as

equally important, RCGD challenges designers to rethink their own practices to create more eco and socially conscious fashion with longevity in mind diminishing the idea that red carpet gowns should be worn once. RCGD is now lead by VP Samata (Pattinson) and has had an admirable collection of celebrities taking on the challenge at the Oscars®, from Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner to Hollywood royalty Emma Roberts.

“But what has that got to do with Wales?”, I hear you ask…

BAFTAs Cymru

On October 13th of this year, St Davids Hall in Cardiff will be hosting the annual BAFTA Cymru awards. FOE Cymru and SustFashWales would like to take inspiration from around the world to challenge the nominees, organisers and guests to make more responsible choices on the BAFTA Cymru red carpet! The nominees will be announced on 5th September and we need YOUR help to encourage them and their guests to wear gowns, suits or even just accessories that show how they are aiming to address the environmental and social issues of the fashion industry. Whether they wear something vintage, something second hand or wear something made by one of the incredible sustainable fashion designers from within Wales (check out the SustFashWales database for more info). We want the BAFTA Cymru event to honour the environment and make socially responsible fashion choices, while also celebrating the incredible (screen and stitching) talent we have here in Wales!

Are you up for the challenge?

To help our campaign please share and tweet our challenge and this blog to all nominees, to BAFTA Cymru and your networks. Together we can achieve positive change through positive actions!

#GreenCarpetWales #SustFashWales 

Join us!

Useful Links:

SustFashWales: http://www.sustfashwales.org

Baftas Cymru: http://www.bafta.org/wales

Eco Age: https://eco-age.com/

Green Carpet Challenge: https://eco-age.com/news/green-carpet-challenge

Red Carpet Green Dress: https://www.redcarpetgreendress.com/