Alicia Silverstone Speaks Out at Green Carpet Fashion Awards, an Honoree Alongside Tom Ford, Gucci, Gabriela Hearst, Edward Enninful and More
The Green Carpet Fashion Awards made its Los Angeles debut during Oscar week.
Honoree Alicia Silverstone, a longtime vegan, had the loudest voice, calling out industry leaders and fashion and beauty companies while urging action.
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“What can all of the actors do and all of the people do?” she asked the room, receiving the “integrity” award. “We can boycott everything that isn’t sustainable, conscious and cruelty-free. I’ve said no to so many campaigns over the years because if we don’t lend our face to it, we’re standing for change. If none of us would promote these products or these companies, imagine how great that would be. When they are politely told why we are declining, they will start to listen and change.”
For the last 25 years, she continued, “When invited to events, I have asked if they are serving plant-based meals, and when the answer has been no, I have politely advocated that they make that change. And at green events, I decline, because I can’t fathom the hypocrisy.”
The ceremony’s menu was indeed vegan — excluding the chocolate tart dessert — on Thursday evening at NeueHouse in Hollywood.
“As much as you can eat this way is important, because — you don’t have to be perfect — but to understand that the animal agriculture is responsible for almost 50 percent of global warming,” Silverstone said. “Nine million people die a year of hunger and that’s largely because we’re taking the food they could be eating and we feed it to animals instead. Resources it takes to make one burger could have fed villages of people. So when you choose plant-based food you’re standing up for those 9 million people and acknowledging that animal protein is an inefficient use of our precious resources. When it comes to fashion, there’s some things I try to do. I buy my clothes used from The RealReal and vintage stores and things like that. And I support eco brands, because there are people doing things so consciously and fabulously.”
Recognizing figures leading sustainable efforts, the night was kicked off by Trudie Styler, who handed the “visionary” honor to Tom Ford as “an exceptionally innovative thinker, someone who is not only seeing the way to a better world in the future but then has made it a reality today.”
She went on, “He decided to tackle one of the most pervasive problems of our age, pollution created by thin-film plastics. This is the type of plastic that makes up nearly half of the 11 million metric tons of plastic that enter our oceans every year, destroying marine live, creating micro plastics and causing chemical pollution at every step of the life cycle.”
“Perhaps I don’t seem like a typical emissary for the health of the biosphere,” Ford said to giggles when he took the stage. “But the truth is, like all of you in this room, I cannot stand by while the planet is slowly coated in thin, oily film of plastic to be inherited by our children and generations to come.” He shared the trophy with his partner in the mission, he said, the Lonely Whale Foundation — created by actor Adrian Grenier and producer Lucy Sumner.
The designer and director then revealed the winners of the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize, a global competition with $1.2 million in cash and investment courtesy of sponsors Tom Ford Beauty, The Estée Lauder Cos. and Trousdale Ventures. The funds aim to support companies to scale their solutions to replace thin-film plastics.
The prize went to businesses utilizing seaweed to combat climate change: Sway, which uses seaweed-based, home-compostable replacements at scale; Zerocircle, making wildlife and ocean-safe packaging materials from local seaweed in India, and Notpla, a London start-up creating plastic-free goods.
Ford served as co-chair with Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, Quannah Chasinghorse, Simone Ashley and Simu Liu, alongside board members Christopher Bevans, Tonne Goodman, Bethann Hardison and Amber Valletta.
Leonardo DiCaprio appeared next to hand out the “healer” award to Sonia Guajajara, minister of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil. “One who has dedicated her life to protecting and regenerating the earth’s ecosystems,” the actor said. “The simple fact is the Amazon rainforest depends primarily on those who have the most experience at protecting its ecosystems…and that is without question its Indigenous defenders.”
The evening also recognized Gabriela Hearst; Eric Liedtke and Tara Moss, cofounders of Unless Collective; Edward Enninful, editor in chief of British Vogue and European editorial director of Condé Nast; Gucci (for its work in the metaverse), and the late Vivienne Westwood. Attendees and presenters included Naomi Campbell; Jodie Turner-Smith; Annie Lennox; Jerry Hall with daughter Georgia May Jagger; Mike D.; Halima Aden; Heidi Klum; Pokimane, and a slew of young leaders, including 2023 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Vanessa Nakate, U.N. Secretary-General special adviser Sophia Kianni, and environmental and human rights activist Helena Gualinga.
Launch Gallery: Inside the Green Carpet Fashion Awards
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