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- 01/08/2023
Looking for some super inspirational sustainable fashion activists to follow on social media in 2023? We have rounded up 15 of our absolute favorite ethical fashion activists for you today!
“Ethical Influencers” are taking the world by storm right now, especially as the world of influencing has become seemingly more and more untethered from what most people experience in our daily lives.
I don’t know about you, but I’m sure not waking up in a different hotel with an infinity pool every day…who are these people? More and more influencers, especially in the eco-friendly or sustainability realm, are focusing on sharing their real-life successes and struggles, and marketing products they *actually* use and can stand behind.
This change comes directly from consumer demand – we’re more likely to purchase products from people we can relate to. Furthermore, it started to become very apparent that the direction influencer marketing was heading was completely unsustainable, not to mention unethical.
Why are Sustainable Fashion Activists & Influencers so Important in 2023?
I’ll be honest, as an *ahem* elder millennial, social media is where I consume the majority of my news, interact with my friends, and of course, it’s where I glean the most inspiration for my wardrobe, home, and lifestyle. Influencers and influencer marketing play a HUGE role in my life, and I’ll bet you feel the same.
Influencers are seen as one of the best marketing tools out there. They have the ability to develop personal relationships with the consumer and reach them on a level that a televised or print ad simply can’t. We trust influencers because we feel we know them, sometimes we feel we are them. We rely on them to know exactly what we want and need from various brands, and deliver those products directly into our hands (with a discount code, of course).
How can Sustainable Fashion Activists inspire us to be more sustainable with our closet?
So the verdict is in – ethical and sustainable influencers CAN inspire us to be more sustainable!
Best Sustainable Fashion Activists of 2023
Lily from Imperfect Idealist is a Massetuschets based runner, a travel junkie, and a sustainable fashion blogger. She describes herself as an “advocate for the planet and its people.”
We love Lily for her amazingly educational and helpul reels and tiktoks that make sustainable fashion accessible and easy to understand!
Lily uses Instagram, TikTok, and her blog to share her adventures and experiences as an endurance runner. She provides travel tips, advice on mindful and healthy living, and sustainable fashion literacy. Her blog also includes a helpful brand directory!
Lily says...
Karishma Porwal is a Canadian-based climate activist, slow fashion advocate, and digital creator.
On her Instagram page, she shares her favorite vegan products, books, and has a full brand directory to help us all make more sustainable shopping choices.
Karishma was born in India and has lived in 4 different countries, giving her a global perspective of climate justice. On her Youtube channel, Make Earth Great Again, she answers questions about living a sustainable lifestyle, shares stories from her travels, and of course delicious vegan recipes!
Kate Caric is an eco-conscious activist and educator with a focus on greenwashing, consumerism, and sustainable fashion.
Her goal is to make sustainable fashion “the norm”. On her blog, she shares outfit inspiration, her favorite sustainable brands, and gift guides for every holiday.
Her Instagram page is where she shares her thoughts on the climate crisis, transformative justice, and the downfalls of the fashion industry. We absolutely love her straight forward transparency on fast fashion brands!
Dominique is a storyteller, writer, educator, and public speaker. Her work is centered on sustainable fashion, advocacy for the BIPOC community through environmental justice, community building, and youth development.
She has been featured in Vogue, The Cut, Forbes, and Nylon among others. Her style is bold and eclectic, with a focus on uplifting and supporting BIPOC owned sustainable and ethical brands.
Check out her website and Instagram page to read more of her work and get inspired by her amazing style!
Danielle of Sustainably Kind Living has found the sweet spot where education, sustainable fashion, and humor meet. Considering the state of the fashion industry isn’t usually something we can laugh about, this is a pretty big accomplishment!
Danielle’s website is a comprehensive deep-dive into zero-waste living, sustainable swaps, slow fashion, and of course a brand directory of her favorite susty brands!
Danielle also isn’t afraid to call out the big fast fashion brands for their unsustainable, dangerous, and exploitive business habits. Her blog provides endless options to avoid supporting these brands in accessible, inclusive, and affordable ways.
Nina Gbor of eco.styles is a climate advocate, speaker, writer, and eco stylist with a love for sustainable brands and thrifting! She is the founder of The Clothes Swap & Style which offers sustainability and styling workshops to help you find your personal style within the circular fashion economy.
Her blog hosts an endless array of interesting topics, including biodiversity loss within fashion’s supply chain, “woke-washing”, and biographies of influential BIPOC women throughout history.
Heidi Kaluza of The Rogue Essentials is a sustainable fashion advocate and is what one could describe as an anti-influencer. Her Instagram page is heavily focused on education regarding the fashion industry. She always encourages her followers to wear and use what they already own.
Heidi spent a lot of time in the fashion industry as a manager at Nordstrom, so she is familiar with the lack of transparency or sustainability within the industry. Heidi also offers consulting and styling services for those who are interested in beginning their sustainable fashion journey but don’t know where to start!
Anna Sacks of The Trash Walker is working to create systemic change by diverting waste from landfill. Her Instagram page is where she educates her followers about the waste stream, specifically in New York, where she lives.
She is the creator of Donate Don’t Dump, a non-partisan coalition fighting for federal waste legislation. Anna is also the founder of Save our Compost, working to keep public composting free and accessible to all residents in New York.
We are obsessed with her reels that showcase what’s TRULY happening behind the scense with major fashion labels. The amount of waste we do not see is absurd!
Leah of The Unmaterial Girl describes herself as a “fast fashion addict turned slow fashion activist”. She is the owner of Radical Self, an inclusive self-care store located in Melbourne, Australia, which sells everything from tarot cards to vibrators.
Her blog features in-depth reviews of ethical and sustainable designers from Australia and beyond. On her Instagram page, she reps vintage-inspired, funky styles. Leah is also a strong advocate for the LGBTQI+ community. She regularly collaborates with other queer influencers to create a safe, inclusive space for all.
Addie Fisher of Old World New is all about slowing down, living with intention, and sharing sustainable lifestyle tips with her followers. She isn’t a perfectionist and doesn’t expect anyone else to be, either.
Her blog is full of sustainability tips, discount codes for some of her absolute favorite eco-friendly products, DIY instructions for funky home goods, and even gift guides for every occasion.
I think, above all else, we love her fun and accessible way of teaching. Addie was a born educator and truly has a gift for inspiring us to do better.
Addie says...
“I love using my platform to talk about sustainability because all it takes is one spark of interest in one comment or funny real to help spread knowledge or inspire someone to think about the environment. And who knows what that one spark could lead to? We could all be encouraging a friend who shows their friends how to live sustainably or a person who decides to invent a device to help clean oceans.”
Kara is a digital creator, stylist, and ethical fashion advocate. She is the creator of the Living in Colourism series which aims to “explore the complexities of colorism through storytelling & raw conversation”.
Kara’s Instagram page is thoughtfully curated with brightly colored vintage and ethical designers. She also shares her personal experience being a woman of color in the sustainable fashion world. Kara’s linktree features affiliate links for her favorite sustainable and eco-conscious brands.
New Zealand-based Kate Hall is a writer, educator, and activist who is dedicated to conscious consumerism. She teaches people how to make better decisions with the planet and people in mind. Of course, she also shares many shoutouts to her favorite sustainable clothing brands. In her daily life, Kate tours New Zealand speaking to schools and workplaces about sustainable living.
She hosts a plethora of online classes teaching everything from composting to sustainable fashion hacks. If you can’t make it to one of her speaking events, Kate’s blog shares her journey to a sustainable lifestyle. It also includes a full brand directory of her favorite sustainable clothing companies. She also has workshops where you can learn all of her best sustainability tips!
Kate says...
“I started with ethical fashion because I ADORED fashion but after realizing how much it devastates and ruins ecosystems and people, I had to change. I felt it was an injustice that no one was talking about the impact of fashion, so I started sharing about it online and now…here I am as Ethically Kate!”
Clothes Horse is “the podcast that loves clothes and hates capitalism”. The podcast is written, researched and hosted by Amanda Lee McCarty, who is a consultant and content creator. Amanda also hosts The Department, a podcast about trends and how they affect our world.
Clothes Horse covers everything fashion related, from learning how to define your personal style to the rise of the second-hand clothing market. Their website offers a complete sustainable brand directory, and resources for anyone interested in decoding the fashion industry.
Leah Thomas from Green Girl Leah is a California-based writer and creator, with her first book, The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet.
Her blog, Green Girl Leah, is an eco-lifestyle blog that centers on social justice and environmentalism. She is also the creator of the Intersectional Environmentalist Non-Profit, which is “a climate justice community and resource hub centering people of color and historically excluded voices.”
Leah’s work has been featured in Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, The Good Trade, and many more. She is a rising voice for the BIPOC community and encourages her followers to connect their personal experiences to the environmental movement as a way to amplify their voices and create lasting social change.
One click onto Jazmine’s Instagram page and you’re transported into a world of bright colors, funky patterns, and playful outfits that would have even the most dedicated minimalist headed to the thrift store. She has built her brand on honesty, playfulness, and thrifting skills that put the rest of us to shame.
Her Instagram and Youtube Channel are safe spaces for her followers to deep-dive into discussions around race, sustainability, colonialism, and how these topics interact in the real world. Jazmine encourages her followers to hold themselves accountable for their actions and always work towards making conscious changes for the better. Progress over perfection, and she’s here to inspire us along the way!
So there you have it. Our top picks for the best sustainable fashion activists on social media! Hopefully these incredible humans will inspire you to use what you have, step outside of your style comfort zone, and commit to more ethical and sustainable shopping choices in the future!
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