Many celebrities have made the jump to veganism in recent years, stating animal welfare and maintaining a healthy lifestyle as their main reasons for the switch. As it becomes trendier to be vegan, the number of celebrities adopting this new diet continues to grow – and that’s a really good thing.

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A handful of people around the world are followed day-in and day-out by the public. Thanks to social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, we have an exclusive view into their lives and have the ability to get to know these people on a personal level more than ever before. This is an incredible opportunity for celebrities with a passion for a cause to communicate their message with the world and actually be heard.

 

Driving for change

Simply stating “I am vegan” through social media isn’t enough to drive change which is why many clever and passionate celebrities have therefore turned to fashion to make those statements and fire up fans to take action. The ingenuity behind this form of activism is that it doesn’t require fans to become activists themselves. Rather, it encourages the same behaviour they have always adopted – mimicry. Fans take action without necessarily feeling like advocates for a cause, but the result is still beneficial. It’s truly brilliant!

 

Slow fashion – Fast Fashion

The ethical, ecological and sustainable fashion subindustry struggles to compete against mainstream “fast fashion” due to cost and overconsumption buying habits. Times are slowly changing as we become increasingly aware that fast fashion is not only overloading our landfills, but also trapping women into poverty and contributing to animal abuse and factory farming all over the world.

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Thanks to efforts from the following celebrities, we’re seeing some shift towards a more thoughtful buying process, where vegan fabrics are becoming increasingly coveted and the red carpet has become a platform for raising awareness about animal protection.

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1.    Miley Cyrus

Thanks to 73 million followers on her Instagram account, Miley Cyrus has a very powerful reach. She’s the most influential when it comes to veganism and recently endorsed a vegan shoe brand’s winter collection. Her militancy is light and refreshing compared to the mainstream, which makes her a powerful force of change.

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2.    Anne Hathaway

Focusing on shoes, Anne Hathaway has used her influential power to commission cruelty-free shoes from designers like Giuseppe Zanotti, Jimmy Choo and Tom Ford. For fashion shoots, she frequently requests vegan brand Beyond Skin for all her shoe-related needs.

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3.    Natalie Portman

In similar fashion, Natalie Portman is well known for not only requesting custom-made cruelty-free attire, but also commit to a vegan diet as well as lifestyle. She requested that Dior re-make leather-free shoes for her Miss Dior Campaign, and has been seen wearing ethical, ecological and sustainable collections from many popular designers.

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4.    Olivia Wilde

In recent years, Wilde completely changed her view of celebrity endorsement, leaving Revlon behind and encouraging cruelty-free, eco-friendly and sustainable brands instead. She signed on as True Botanical’s Chief Brand Ambassador in 2017, striving to publicize the brand’s line of toxin-free, cruelty-free and gluten-free products. She has also placed her stamp of approval on H&M’s Conscious Collections, encouraging her fans to be more conscious about their lifestyle. 

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5.    Emma Watson

She’s an activist for many causes, often portrayed in the media thanks to her views on feminism, animal rights and sustainability in the fashion industry. She’s collaborated with ethical fashion organization People Tree and created a new ecological brand with Alberta Ferretti called Pure Threads.

Our fight for change continues to impact many industries, designers and brands, including fashion and beauty giants. The future is likely to be bright as we continue to question our buying habits and become aware of how our actions impact our planet. Stay tuned for interesting changes in the beauty industry, where several brands have vowed to go vegan in the next few years.