Fashion model Daisy Lowe has said she always checks she is wearing clothes that have been sustainably sourced before leaving her home.
The 32-year-old, who has modelled for brands including Burberry, Chanel and Vivienne Westwood, said she felt a responsibility to only work with brands that have “sustainability credentials”.
Lowe has taken part in a number of environmental campaigns including London protests organised by Extinction Rebellion, and hosted a web series about green issues.
She told the PA news agency that while the issue remains important to her, she is not a “saint”.
Asked whether she feels a personal responsibility, she said: “Oh God, of course. I have always done things for the environment. I went to my first environmental protest as a teenager.
“I have been part of the fashion industry my whole career and I always have to check before leaving the house, if I have to wear something for an event, or I am working.
“I can’t work with a brand unless I check their sustainability credentials.
“Now more so than ever when leaving the house it is like, ‘If I am going to an event and I am going to wear this piece, where did it come from? Is it sustainably sourced?’
“I have always had a huge passion for vintage clothes and, obviously, that is a great way to keep clothes from going to landfill, so that is brilliant.
“It is very important to me. In saying that, I am not a saint and I sometimes get things wrong but I try my best.”
Lowe, who competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, has posed in front of images showing famous landmarks, funded by the National Lottery, that have been manipulated to show the potential impact on the environment of human activity.
Shakespeare’s Globe in London is covered in piles of plastic waste, while the Giant’s Causeway, Co Antrim, is engulfed with the kind of marine litter found on many UK beaches.
Lowe said she hoped the images inspired people to act on the “terrifying” situation during the ongoing Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.
She said: “When I received (the images) on Friday I was really shocked and frightened and I think it is supposed to inspire that eco-anxiety and throw you into a state where you want to make a difference and make a positive change to help the planet.
“Because the way that things are going, there needs to be a big shift. And, obviously, with Cop26 happening over the next two weeks, it is a real topic around the whole planet.”
She added: “I think that it is time for a change and I want to be hopeful, because I think facing the state of climate change where we are right now, it is absolutely terrifying so you have got to have hope.”
More information is available at www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/funding