Shailene Woodley on Why Hollywood Is “Pretty Circular” When It Comes to Fashion Sustainability

Shailene Woodley discussed that ‘Hollywood is pretty circular’ when it comes to, sustainable chic, and how the star’s newest daily uniform is aiding her to embrace a greener existence.

“This year, I lived in one place for six months, and I haven’t done that since I was 17 years old,” Coldplay’s Chris Martin, 32, said during Uber’s Go-Get Zero event Oct. 8 in London. It was important for me and that is why I have adopted many habits there. It is really is so sustainable just having a daily routine. In another way, I discover that it is very easy for me to take the same meal throughout the whole day when I am stationed in a particular place. That way I can normally be able to meal plan. I do most of my own cooking. And so there’s ways of keeping one involved in the local economy and in the local infrastructure. For me, that looks like farmer’s markets and trying to find a green dry cleaner and regulating that: ‘Hi I do not want you to put plastic over my clothes or bring me a wire hanger I have my own.’ So those were ways that this year was different than previous years’’.

During the rideshare app’s conference Woodley interviewed Uber’s spokewoman Jill Hazelbaker about activism for the environment (“I’m far from innocent”), changes of the importance of ecology in Hollywood (“for years ‘tree-hugging hippie’ was considered kind of cool, there’s worse things you can call oneself’) and her own shopping.

Woodley told a source: ‘Apart from the socks that I am wearing everything else is second hand’, Woodley wore an animal print blouse teamed with black trousers and boots at the event. I have stores, and most of the clothes maybe 80% are second-hand now, there is such a great company, and it is called The RealReal, and you can find nice pieces there, and you can also sell them back. Which makes this into this very entertaining system to work with. A lot of people don’t know this but in Hollywood the glamorous demeanour we portray especially on red carpets has its strings attached; it calls for a return gift! At the end of the day, none of it is yours to hold or take with you when you are done. It is all a show and tell as much as it is we are learning things as we do these things really. You get [pieces] and you’re like, ‘Whose deodorant is this? That’s not mine.’ Now in that respect, I somewhat believe that Hollywood is quite cyclic.

She added, The issue in general is fashion. It becomes a major problem when it approach environmental conservation, or labor workers; everything is so delicate. And for me, the only way that I can sort of be aware and modify my routine is if I get more invested in secondhand. And since consumers constantly rule the market, second hand choices are slowly emerging more present, hell of a lot easier than before. If one is into elaborate expensive things, they perhaps can afford to find some of the highest class of luxury items. Depending on where you go you can find a thrift store or depending on the location you can find these exquisite luxury vintage stores.

The actor in Three Women also endorsed Uber for its new founding partnership with Prince William’s The Earthshot Prize that supports climate solution developers like Enso Tyre, a line of tires that helps to decrease pollution and increase range for EV’s and Notpla, a seaweed-based, compostable packaging company that has developed plastic-free takeout boxes now available at discount via UberEats. The decision is part of the Internet titan’s Paris Innovation Pilot that will inject $1m in businesses within City of Paris to switch to sustainable packaging like Releaf bags and iamplasticfree drinking straws.

Before everything, let me say it out here: I am not an angel. I got very juiced when you guys discussed the sustainability regarding UberEats and packaging because that’s huge. I spend more than half my life on the movie set. Another issue that came to light was things like when I don’t have a kitchen that I can cook in, I’m UberEating to work, said Woodley. For instance, I travelled around the world most of the time and I spend most of my time on planes. I am dining with plastic utensils. And, of course, there are still those ubiquitous plastic water bottles. I’m by no means perfect. And I think the message that I always try to get across is it’s not about being perfect.”

The recently partnered with Big Little Lies creator David E. Kelley on his Hope in the Water documentary series that came out earlier this year on PBS. Recalling the trips she took with Greenpeace several years ago when she witnessed the amount of microplastics in the water that left her feeling that ‘maybe there is no hope’ Woodley said that filming this PBS show made her realise that she needs to get back to being hopeful.

I really liked that: that was very inspiring to me. It speaks of how it empowers and fosters local economies through the provision/negotiation of access to communities, to larger cities or to governments and through food and our intimacy with it as being something that not only sustains an economy but also sustains the ecosystem of a people as well,” she continued.

When asked about her 2016 arrest together with 26 others during the Dakota Access pipeline protests and whether she would do it again — Woodley said: “In a heartbeat.” She reflected on how doing “the whole name-drop thing” didn’t help the movement: “I was making a call to CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, and I was pleading; ‘Ladies and gentlemen, can you come and cover?” Why don’t these people just ask these children few questions and listen to what these children are uttering.? And no one came.” (The 1,172-mile underground crude oil pipeline was launched in May 2017 by Energy Transfer Partners, a company that operates in the U.S and passes through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

That is why I cried when I saw [Uber’s] performance because for many years, I have been running around dragging people tocome forward and beg for solutions. It just wasn’t on a mainstream level of consciousness or awareness yet to want to participate. That was a massive turning point because a movement that started with 25 people, mostly youths, it grew to tens of thousands of people from around the world coming to an Indigenous community in North America to be with the community there. And as much as it was about the pipeline, you cannot discuss climate without discussing all of the aspects of intersecting factors of it. And a lot of it happens to communities that aren’t very loud when it comes to mainstream media and don’t have a lot of say on. That was a historical moment in recognising that there are more than those of us sitting in this room, who are part of this conversation.

Woodley also explained how she does not feel anger anymore at how slow the change is in the movie industry and in people’s lives in general.

I noticed one point particularly, people do not like to be ordered but people always love to be motivated. In Hollywood for many years I was considered the tree-hugging hippie. So, I was like, well, there’s worse things to be called,” part of which she said while we in an Uber in the city. “Now it is really exciting to see all of these people who once cast me in the hippie role, making changes on their own or becoming brand champions of organizations on their own.” I had so much anger for so long that we weren’t moving as quickly as I thought we should be moving, and that no one seemed to be listening. It’s cool to be the slow patient consciousness that makes choices in our personal lives, inspires that same consciousness in corporations, and then watches the waves spread out.

Woodley’s next project is to work as both actress and producer in the biopic of singer Janis Joplin. Onscreen, she will next fall in love with Aubrey Plaza in The Acolyte creator, Leslye Headland’s Cult of Love play on Broadway with Zachary Quinto and Barbie Ferreira.