BY STEPHANIE TRENDOCHER, FW Writer

We look to Hollywood for the latest buzz worthy
news, and currently the eco-friendly movement
is on the forefront. From high profile designers
to top models and A-list actors, celebrities are
setting the pace as eco all-stars. Take a look at
who’s at the top of the green list.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz are
leaders in the eco-friendly movement. DiCaprio
has made documentaries about global warming
and started The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation,
an organization that raises awareness about
environmental issues and renewable energy
sources. Even his condo is earth-friendly,
featuring a water treatment facility, a fresh
filtered air system and solar panels.

Back in 2005, Cameron Diaz teamed up
with MTV for an eco-adventure series to raise
awareness on energy consumption and the
environment. She also appears in public service
announcements for Act Green, which promotes
energy conservation and less reliance on oil. The
star drives a Prius and buys recyclable products
for her home.

Stella McCartney, a devoted vegetarian,
leads the designer pack with her sustainable
fashion and organic skincare lines. Not only does
she provide her customers with eco-conscious
products, she uses wind energy to power her
studio and website. McCartney goes above and
beyond, even offering online shoppers the option
to ship their purchases carbon neutral.

Another fashionable and earth-friendly
celebrity is Natalie Portman, a long-time
vegetarian and animal rights supporter. You’ll
never catch her dawning fur or leather. She
even travelled to Rwanda on a mission to save
silverback gorillas and in efforts to raise more
awareness about vegan-friendly fashion, Portman
released a collection of footwear this year for Té
Casan designed entirely with manmade materials.

Orlando Bloom, Salma Hayek and Jake
Gyllenhaal are all members of Global Green USA,
a foundation involved in the prevention of global
warming. All three have travelled to Antarctica
to research the effects of global warming and
each are involved in their own unique efforts
to combat climate change. Salma Hayek leads
an eco-conscious lifestyle, driving a hybrid and
outfitting her home with solar panels. She is also
helping to provide clean drinking water to nearly
2.5 billion citizens who don’t have access to the resource.

Orlando Bloom helped launch Global
Cool, an organization that introduces simple
changes into people’s everyday lifestyles that
will help stop global warming. Jake Gyllenhaal
donated $10,000 to have trees planted in
Mozambique in an attempt to reduce his carbon
footprint.

Shalom Harlow lends more to her model
status than a pretty face. Not only is she is the
organizer and spokesperson for Earth Pledge
FutureFashion, she has also joined missions with
Forest Ethics who petition against junk mail
providers in hopes of protecting forests.

Actor Brad Pitt, a true humanitarian at
heart, kept his eco-conscious focus in his housing
project in the New Orleans Lower 9th Ward.
These sustainable and affordable houses (selling
for less than $175,000) provide victims of
Hurricane Katrina with eco-friendly dwellings.
The buildings offer unique water collection and
recycling systems.

But the coolest eco-conscious celebrity is
definitely K.T. Tunstall. She does not own a
television or car, and her recording studio is
constructed entirely from reclaimed wood,
insulated with sheep’s wool and powered with
solar panels. The singer toured in a bio-diesel bus
and released her album in paper foam packaging
made of tapioca and potato starch. Dedicated to
the cause? I’ll say.

Photo courtesy of PR Photos