Summer Rayne Oakes is an activist, model, correspondent for Planet Green, consultant, public speaker, and author of style, naturally, a shopping guide to sustainable fashion and beauty.
Her blog on www.summerrayne.net follows her far-flung adventures and includes updates on the latest green happenings, fashions, and products.
celsias.com: What do you see as the green perks to being a blogger?
SRO: I guess I never really looked at "green perks of blogging." I'm sure there are many, especially if you don't have to commute to an office everyday. One can easily become a slave to blogging though - and I'd like to see how bloggers and those of us using social networks can use the power of online to convene on-the-ground, offline for a social cause.
I think PowerShift09 (www.powershift09.org) and Twestival (www.twestival.com) are great examples of how the power of online blogging/twittering/online noise can create change if harnessed appropriately. Abstaining from going to an office everyday because you can blog at home is great, but nothing replaces the experience, efficacy, emotion and impact of actually going out and doing some good.
celsias.com: You highlight cutting-edge eco-products on your blog, such as your recent post on African fashion. What are some of the standards (such as whether a product is organic, fair-trade, has sustainably sourced ingredients) that you use to help you choose what to feature?
SRO: I often have a personal relationship or experience with many of the brands I feature and often get to know the products or the people behind the products prior to writing about them. The products have to be designed well, in the case of fashion, or effective, in the case of beauty products. A compelling story always helps too; I truly believe that a personal story that transcends a product is beneficial, if not essential. Lastly, I try to feature brands that have legs --ones that will be on the market for awhile, even if it's due to the force of will of a lone entrepreneur.
celsias.com: Although you update your blog regularly, you are more known for some of your other professional endeavors, such as modeling and acting as a correspondent for Planet Green. You use a values-based approach to modeling, where you only associate yourself with companies that use ethics and business practices you agree with. Has it been difficult to make a career as a model doing this? Have you ever been tempted to take a higher paycheck from a less virtuous company?
SRO: I have been faced with seemingly difficult decisions and challenges - and have been told that the way I do things is "just not done," but that doesn't mean it has deterred me from the path that I've created. What I have is my values - and a deal has to feel right in my gut to make it worthwhile for me personally, spiritually and professionally, which for me is an inextricably-linked relationship. It also has to fit into one of my core goals and ethos, which is to help bring the environmental movement to people who have not traditionally been involved in it.
But to answer your question - yes, the idea of building a career in values-based modeling is difficult, but it's a challenge that I openly enjoy and embrace. It pushes my limits and allows me to be strategically creative, which really makes me come alive. On a practical level, I've turned down major contracts; I have left my initial agency due to differences of opinion. But as a result, I have developed my own company; have helped contribute to the development of a talent brand management firm specifically designed to represent creative experts; and have developed and am continuously looking to develop worthwhile, strategic partnerships, projects and micro-enterprises - all which adds to the color and texture of my personal experience, which is so priceless, so rewarding...
celsias.com: Does being a model and public speaker put you at odds with having a small carbon footprint, and how do you offset that?
SRO: Travel is the one thing that puts me face-to-face with the fabric of the world, which again is priceless. Air travel is the largest component of my carbon footprint, and my footprint is larger this year than last particularly due to the book tour. I've had my carbon expenditures projected over the next 6 months, which equates to 38,000 lbs or 17 tons, which according to my colleague, is not abnormal. I work directly on a program with my colleague in Mozambique doing forest restoration projects and actually physically help plant the trees. We're currently looking at how to develop our programs in Africa as programs in the carbon sequestration and offset market.
celsias.com: You've become a voice for the young, green generation. What are some baby steps that you think are the easiest for people on the fringe of the environmental movement to adapt that have the most impact on the environment?
SRO: The biggest impact one could have getting involved and helping influence your government - whether school or university body - local - regional - state - or national. It sounds so much more esoteric and difficult than it really is, but you can start by going to a local board meeting or working with pre-existing groups that already know the lay of the land. So few people pay heed the legislative process - and when they do, real action can happen. Think about it as one step up above voting. Focus on ideas that can help propel viable environmental solutions forward - whether green jobs, alternative energy programs, sustainable design, green architecture, or the like.
celsias.com: Do you have any eco-resolutions for the next year?
SRO: Lots of "resolutions" but not all eco-ones. Most were spill over from last year: Get my diver's certification, learn to skateboard, become more fluent in Spanish...I did do a more formal carbon footprint projection this year so I could get a baseline understanding of how to improve it and so that I have a more accurate analysis of what to sequester.
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