PAMELA ANDERSON
@pamelaanderson
Pamela Anderson’s love of the ocean goes beyond her iconic Baywatch days: ‘I spent my childhood on Vancouver Island, on a beach where the forest meets the ocean – I grew up respecting what was right in front of me.’ A long-time PETA campaigner and advocate for animal rights, Pamela was extolling the virtues of veganism long before it became fashionable: ‘I believe it’s the fountain of youth,’ she says. One of her proudest moments has been planting trees in Honduras with the Inga Foundation to help combat deforestation, but ‘there is a lot to learn; we need to educate ourselves and take action,’ she says.
WHAT EXCITES ME MOST ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY is that it’s so fast-growing. It’s exciting to see designers swearing off fur and newer fabrics that use plastic. We need to turn the negatives into positives. I have hope – and I really love a slogan T-shirt; I prefer them to hashtags.
CAN WE MAKE SUSTAINABILITY SEXY? Compassion is sexy; empathy is, too. It’s a romantic struggle, to free the world by educating it. This is why we need brave publishers like Julian Assange; we need to know the truth.
I GREW UP ON VANCOUVER ISLAND, near a beach where the forest met the ocean, which became my playground. It was hugely rich in nature, so I’ve always respected what’s right in front of me.
EVERYTHING DAMAGES THE PLANET, some things less than others, but to buy less is the answer. Vivienne Westwood, my eco hero, agrees: don’t buy crap, save for one good piece a year. YOUNG PEOPLE ARE MORE WILLING TO SHARE WEALTH, security, healthcare and happiness. They understand they have to be more aware, and that success has to be a sustainable success.
THE THING THAT MAKES ME MOST HOPEFUL is that people are more aware – some care less, but most care more. We need new minds to create new governments and new ideas. Artists are the freedom fighters of the world, and no one is forgotten in this age of technology. Individual accountability is in fashion right now; we each have a legacy to leave and every action has a repercussion. If we all think this way, the world will change for the better.
MY ECO MANTRA FOR THE ELLE READER is strive to be vegan, strive to use less plastic, switch to a green energy supplier (it’s easy and the same price) and consume less.