Angela Lindvall: Model EcoCitizen
Angela Lindvall on the Victoria’s Secret catwalk, and featured in New York magazine above.
As a supermodel—and I mean that literally—Angela Lindvall has been a cover girl for Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and countless other big-fashion mags. Inside their pages, she’s the face of brands from Valentino to Missoni. I talked with the ecoista from her Los Angeles, CA home about becoming the new face of DKNY’s new Pure fragrance, which sources sustainable vanilla from a fair trade cooperative in Uganda, as well as the sticky subject of how she comes to terms with representing brands that might not reflect her personal ideals.
For the past 10 years, Angela has managed to bring a personal interest in sustainability to her professional life. After realizing that the mainstream media wasn’t talking about environmental issues, she founded the non-profit Collage Foundation, which uses the “you get more bees with honey” approach to stimulating awareness. “If you are coming in as a radical people aren’t going to respond very well,” she said. “But if you come from a place of inspiration and invitation you’ll get a much better response.”
Then the model/actress—she appeared in 2005’s “Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang”—co-hosted “Alter Eco” with Adrian Grenier. It might just very well have been her dream job if it didn’t involve working 13-hour days, six days a week, then modeling on weekends to make her mortgage payments. Oh, and she did her own hair, makeup and wardrobe—a challenge for Angela who admits, “I’m probably the least fashionable person. At home I’m in my jeans and tank top. If I shop it’s at vintage stores.”
But with DKNY Pure, an upcoming gig as the spokesperson for Biotherm’s new organic line and appointment to the founding board of Natural Resources Defense Council’s Clean by Design Initiative, the professional and the personal are truly beginning to align. “For so long, I felt like my fashion career was on one side [and] my passion and environmental endeavors were on the other side. It’s super exciting that they’re starting to collide,” she said. “It’s really exciting to believe in something that I represent.”
And no, the 31-year-old mother of two and former Victoria’s Secret catwalker doesn’t do runway anymore—“I don’t really have that Twiggy runway body anymore,” she said, “which I’m happy about.” But we might just see her at the Green Shows this season.
British Vogue
EcoStiletto: You’ve been on countless magazine covers and ad campaigns, but our readers probably best know you from Planet Green’s “Alter Eco.” How did that come about?
Angela Lindvall: Very serendipitously, I must say. My girlfriend got a text message from a friend asking for music for the show. And she responded by saying you should feature my best friend Angela—it’s totally her world. We got a call five minutes later asking if I could meet Adrian that night. In my heart of hearts I knew that I would get it, but when I met Adrian he told me they had already picked a host. They had to convince the network—they met with the head of Planet Green and Discovery—and two weeks later we were shooting.
For me, it was a big change because I was all of a sudden working 13-hour days, six days a week and not making much money. On the weekend I was flying out to do modeling so I could cover my mortgage payment. I also did my own hair, makeup and wardrobe—which sometimes I’m not too proud of. But I loved it. I loved talking with all those people about what they were doing. And I love Adrian and Darren and Boise.
Japanese Elle
ES: When did you start getting involved in eco-consciousness?
AL: I grew up in nature—my mother was into home birthing and natural healing and all of that. But it really started when I was about 18 and had moved to New York to start my fashion career. I started researching online and finding out about what’s in our food and water and air—I was blown away. It needed to be on the front page of the newspaper. Why did I have to dig for this information?
Then as I started working more I realized how powerful the media is and thought we could use the media to stimulate awareness on these issues. That’s when I started the Collage Foundation. Through connecting with existing organizations, I started to understand that the approach is very important. If you are coming in as a radical people aren’t going to respond very well. But if you come from a place of inspiration and invitation you’ll get a much better response.
Angela as the face of Jimmy Choo shoes.
At times it was frustrating because I would mention the word “sustainability” and people would say, “Why are you always talking about that? You have this great career going—why are you wasting your time?” But now it’s exciting to see that this information is really at the forefront of mainstream media.
For so long, I felt like my fashion career was on one side—and it provided so many opportunities for me—but my passion and environmental endeavors were on the other side. It’s super exciting that they’re starting to collide! Doing DKNY Pure, where they’re taking small steps to make responsible choices as a company—I don’t feel so much that I’m being hired as a face. Because my job is kind of pantomime—I can represent whatever people want to project. And that can be fun but it’s really exciting to believe in something that I represent.
Angela poses for a Tommy Hilfiger campaign.
ES: Tell me about DKNY Pure. Is it a synthetic-free fragrance?
AL: I’m not 100 percent sure. It’s not an essential oil, but it’s really light. I love it and I don’t normally like fragrance. I know the vanilla is sustainably harvested through a foundation called CARE that supports women in Uganda, the packaging is made from recycled paper and biodegradable plastic, but I’m not 100 percent sure. I would hope there are no cat hormones in there.
Angela with her sons Sebastian and Dakota in a photo shoot for British Vogue.
ES: Has your perspective changed since you became a mother?
AL: Becoming a mother changed my life in the biggest way ever. You become a lot more conscious of yourself and your relationship to the environment and to other people. You become a living example of what your children live by. And they teach you to be very present and in the moment.
From an environmental perspective, at first I focused on the external environment—pollution, all of those things—but now that I’ve been on this journey for 10 years in a major way I’m realizing how everything is so interconnected. It’s not only external—it’s internal. It’s taking it down from the macro to the micro in our communities: How we interact with one another and our families and values.
If we’re aligned and connected we make choices that impact the larger whole in a positive way. And that’s been an amazing journey. Being a mother has definitely supported that.
This photo originally appeared in Elle.
ES: Switching gears, what are your favorite eco-beauty brands?
AL: Another brand that I’m working with is Biotherm. They’re launching a new line of skincare called Skinergetic. It’s 99% organic and all derived from fruits and vegetables.
It’s super exciting to take the message of beauty and skin into a more holistic approach—from the inside out. It’s much more than skin deep. Women feel so much stress juggling between their careers and their families. The stress that we have compared to our grandmothers is just insane. Through Skinergetic, I have the opportunity to speak out to women about our consumer choices and the way that we take care of ourselves.
A lot of this has really come to a head in the last year—being a spokesperson for things that I believe in. It’s all starting to line up. I knew the universe was supporting me, but now it’s all starting to come together.
Photo credit: Sebastian Faena for George Hansen.
ES: What about beauty brands that you’re not involved with professionally?
AL: I really love Dr. Hauschka and Weleda. A friend of mine makes an amazing product called purémedy, it’s a healing salve that’s from a 100-year-old family recipe passed down from the Indians of North America and Canada. She’s got a face cream that’s fantastic. There’s also Rosemary Swift—she has a beautiful makeup line called RMS Beauty that’s really for everyday, it’s very simple.
ES: What are your favorite eco-designers?
AL: It’s funny—I really need to clue myself in a little more in this world. I’m a part of the fashion world but I’m probably the least fashionable person. At home I’m in my jeans and my tank top. If I shop it’s at vintage stores.
But I love Loomstate—I think their whole concept is revolutionary. I think Linda Loudermilk is one of the first people in eco fashion who had a real understanding of cut and design—this is back when organic cotton still had seeds in it. Oh, and Loyale—she makes beautiful stuff.
I’m on the founding board of directors of NRDC’s Clean by Design, to improve the standards of the textile industry. The goal is to reduce pollution between 10 and 40 percent. Textiles are the number two polluter in Asia. I’m so inspired and engaged by this initiative!
I’m also working with John Hardy. This is a jewelry company out of Bali that has been running their company sustainably for years—before it was hip. We created a line of jewelry together [that’s] all recycled silver.
Photo credit: Tom Craig for British Vogue.
ES: At this point in your career, you seem to be more of a spokesperson and print model, but do you walk runway shows as well?
AL: I do some shows. I don’t really have that Twiggy runway body anymore. I have a healthier womanly body, which I’m happy about—it took me a long time to get this! But I have some major clients that I’ll do shows for. I did a few shows in Paris last season and I did Michael Kors in New York.
ES: Are you involved in the Green Shows?
AL: What is that?
ES: The Green Shows are the eco-fashion shows that take place during New York Fashion Week.
AL:I feel a little foolish that I don’t know more about who’s doing what. I’m not the type of girl who talks about clothes but from the point of view of what I believe in, it’s an opportunity to give credit to people who are doing great stuff. I have to check that out.
Photo credit: Tesh for French Elle.
ES: What’s the biggest green change you’d like to make in your life—even if it’s impossible right now?
AL: I’m getting gray water at my house in the kitchen and one bathroom. In California that’s crucial. My plumbing is pretty complicated to get my whole house on the system but if I could that’s what I would do. And I’m still considering it—I’m looking at knocking out walls. And I still want to get solar panels. I looked into it a few years ago and it was going to cost $70,000 but now there are all kinds of new incentives.
ES: I’d have to cut down a giant tree to put them on my house. I’m just waiting for the panels that go on the sides of buildings—I read that the skyscrapers will be like giant batteries!
AL: That’s so funny, I remember thinking years ago why can’t the sides of buildings be solar panels? I would love to see an environmental code happen—I guess that would be my biggest wish. If you’re going to build a new building you have to have a gray water system and low energy solar.
ES: Speaking of wishes, who’s your eco-idol and why?
AL: I really love John Todd and Janine Benyus. They’re my heroes. I found them at the Bioneers Conference. She speaks about biomimicry, which is the way we apply nature’s patterns to our society’s structures. And he created the living machine—the microbial organisms and filter plants that clean wastewater. It’s fascinating to me. I was nervous to say hi to them—it was like they were the biggest celebrities in the world.
ES: What’s your worst eco-sin?
AL: Flying. It’s part of my job. But my worst personal eco-sin is that I love taking bubble baths. I can’t cut that pleasure out of my life. But if I have gray water in that bathtub it won’t matter!
ES: What’s the best green advice you ever received—and who gave it to you?
AL: A friend of mine—his name is John Howell—told me that the one thing you have to realize is that you’re not going to see everything change over your lifetime but that the steps you’re taking now can affect lives in the future. You won’t see it now. You have to know that going in or you’re going to be stressed out by how slowly things change.
ES: That’s good advice.
