Summer Rayne Oaks: A Model of Sustainability
January 28 2009
Proving that brains and beauty can co-exist, Summer Rayne Oakes is a Cornell University graduate, Udall environmental scholar and environmental scientist who also just happens to be a jet-setting model. But this isn’t just any run-of-the-mill modeling career: Summer trailblazed a career in values-based modeling, in which she exclusively aligns with environmentally- and socially-conscious designers, companies or programs, such as the Zoe & Zac line of eco-friendly shoes and accessories that she designed and now models, which is set to launch at Payless Shoe Source in April 2009.
A sustainability strategist, on-air correspondent and advisor for “Planet Green,” Summer is the author of Style, Naturally: The savvy shopping guide to sustainable fashion & beauty (Chronicle Books) which hit stores February 1st. A dedicated activist, Summer works closely with the youth climate change movement through Energy Action and assisted in producing PowerShift, the largest lobby day on climate change and green jobs, which kicks off another year this month. In her spare time, Summer also helps to manage community sustainable development and forest conservation programs in Africa.
Vanity Fair named her a “Global Citizen,” Cosmo called her a “Fun, Fearless Female,” Outside listed her as one of their “Top Environmental Activists,” Amica tapped her as a “Top 20 Trendsetter under 40,” she’s one of Earth First’s “Hottest Girls of Green” and CNN named her a “Young Person Who Rocks.”
We call her a poster girl for EcoCelebrity.
ES: When did you start getting involved in the environment?
SRO: I was quite young. My mother would have an awful time trying to get me to come inside. I always had something to bring home—like frogs in my shoes, woolly bear caterpillars, and anything else I could get my hands on. I insisted on bringing nature home with me. I really found a part of myself in nature, which evolved as I began exploring Native American philosophies and getting involved at an early age in the community. [Summer is part Native American and grew up in Pennsylvania.] I had the ultimate experience growing up because I was given a tremendous amount of freedom and responsibility—from organizing steam quality tests, designing and managing a coal reclamation site, and acquiring tree replanting grants for the local parks. I suppose my advocacy really blossomed from there.
ES: How important do you think these kinds of changes are for you, personally?
SRO: My work and how I live my life is so central to who I am, so inextricably linked to my passion that it is hard to not wear it on my sleeve. I think when you are so passionate about something it can really get people excited and in turn, there’s a lot of back-and-forth energy going on, which personally keeps you going.
ES: What about for the planet?
SRO: I believe that individual steps are important, but to see real change, we can’t just be changing lightbulbs, we need to be changing lives. The more that we can be hands-on involved, the better.
ES: What are your favorite green fashion labels?
SRO: Oh gosh, how much time do you have? I tell you what, I live in Brooklyn, and we’ve got some pretty kick-ass designers up in this joint. I’m talking Bodkin, Covet, Carasan, The Dirty Librarian… It’s really cool stuff. But I have some insane pieces by Noir from Denmark, Ekovaruhuset from Sweden, and Leila Hafzi out of Norway. I’m also partial to a brand from Mozambique that I’ve been working with called a.d. schwarz. We’re making sustainably-harvested jewelry and personal care products with the local artisans out of the forest resources in Moz, which are second-to-none. On the shoe front: What we’re doing with Zoe & Zac line is really cool because I get to be hands-on and the product is spot-on. And of course I love Beyond Skin and Charmone Shoes.
ES: What are the best eco-friendly beauty finds?
SRO: My absolute tops faves are Aveda’s tourmaline radiance fluid, Pangea Organics body wash, Miessence balancing cleanser and Terralina body lotion combined with a little WEN conditioning oil.
ES: What’s the biggest green change you’d like to make in your life—even if it’s impossible right now?
SRO: I love travel. I suppose it’s not so bad because I work on carbon-poverty reduction/offset programs in Mozambique, but I’d like to have less back-and-forth travel and more clustered trips.
ES: What’s your favorite eco-friendly tip our readers should know about?
SRO: Get green by going green. Take electronics for instance. You never know what to do with your old electronics and we all know that it is absolutely egregious to throw them away, so services like GreenPhone.com and Gazelle.com have popped up, which pay you for recycling your old phones and electronics, respectively.
ES: Who’s your eco-idol and why?
SRO: It’s funny because I’ve never idolized anyone, but I appreciate the culture, spiritual nature and knowledge of indigenous peoples, the minds of people like Tom Eisner and Janine Benyus, and anyone who shares a ravenous passion for the little, often overlooked natural wonders in life.
ES: What’s the best green advice you ever received—and who gave it to you?
SRO: There’s no silver-bullet solution to the environmental that issues we face today, which was inspired by a conversation with one of my partners and good friends, Allan Schwarz.
Photo credits: Summer Rayne Oakes by Anouk Morgan
