Summer Rayne Oakes

he'sthe world's first eco-model, and has been named a'global cltizeni
a "top environmental activisti' and a "young person who rocksl'\A/hile
Summer Rayne Oakes greatly appreciates the honors, she generally
prefers to distance herself from titles-and justifiably so. Backed by
education and training in environmental science and entomology, Oakes has
parlayed her runway skills into an ever-widening career in environmental advocacy that has her not only modeling for eco-conscious companies but also
authoring books and columns, producing videos and films, and consulting sustainable design and fashion (the use of environmentally friendly materials and
methods for clothing production).
"I understand the need for titles, but I think if we get stuck on them, we confine ourselvesinto boxes. There are so many different opportunities that have
arisen for me by putting myself out there in many shapesand formsi' saysthe
28-year-old. "The accolades Ive received, however...you need social affirmation that youre doing something that the world wants or needs.And you need
people to support you. I wouldnt have been able to do half of what I ve done if
it werent for the wonderfrrl encouragement of othersl'
As a values-basedmodel, Oakeshas appearedin premier publications, where
she sells only products that jive with her ecological belief system.As a sustainability strategist, she heads an empire of environmental awarenessthat has at
its core Summer Ralme OakesSustainability Innovation Consulting. And sometimes the two vocations interconnect.
Through her company, she helps develop "greenl' profitable, socially conscious brands via a complete slate of services that includes quantitative and
qualitative market analysis, concept mapping, logo development, marketing,
advertising, and media relations. Her client list is diverse, from PaylessShoeSource and Tommy Hilfiger to Yale University and Cond6 Nast. Whenever possible, she models the products that stem from her innovation: For example,
there's zoe&zac,Payless'ssustainable shoe line that incorporates recycled-rubber heels and organic cotton uppers; MODO-brand signature eyewear called
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"eco by Summer Rayne Oakesl' made from 95
percent recycled materials; and linens from
City, because I thought Id be in
the country. Mentally, I live in a
Portico, which uses organic cotton, eucalyptus,
recycled plastic bottles, and nontoxic dyes and
log cabini'
finishes in its manufacturing process.
ern Pennsylvania, on five acres
Oakes grew up in Northeast-
Oakes also has authored the best-selling
ofland surrounded by forest and
style guide Style, Naturally, and co-founded
Source4Style, a business-to-business online
meadows. Nature was literally
everywhere and as a young girl
marketplace where designers and retailers can
she soakedit up, becoming a selfdescribed "freak for the outdoorsl'
compare and purchase sustainable materials
from suppliers around the globe. Add to these
endeavors her editorshrp at Above Live, a di$tal platform that spotlights the people, places,
Shed often take her brother's microscopeand spend hours exam-
" andproducts upholdingthe environmental mo-
ining plants and other items fiom
her baclqyard that piqued her
mentum; her contributions to The Hffington
Posf,greenbiz.corn,and discovery.com;and her
curiosity. Later, she majored in
environmental science and ento-
production of the 2012 award-winning environmental short, eXtinction, and you wonder how
mology at Cornell University, paying her way with earnings from
environmental research jobs, an
she managesto stay so on top of her world.
On a Friday afternoon in late March, she'staking a short breather from it all amidst hundreds
ofplants and a couple of dozen exotic insects
that co-occupy her Williamsburg, Brook\m,
fourth-floor apartment. The nearly 20 different
species of flora are encased in a vertical wall
garden and fed via a subirrigation system that
waters them from the bottom. The desert- and
forest-dwelling bugs-beetles and Madagascar
cockroaches among them-are
housed in two
terrariums.
"The plants are doing really well and they to-
environmental scholarship from
the Udall Foundation, and fellowships from both the National
Wildlife Federation and the Property and Environmental Research
Center. She also started modeling, regularly commuting by bus
to New York City for assignments
with small brands aligned with
her ecologicalvalues.
When she graduated in 2005,
she moved to the BigApple, intent
on working only for companies
that were "environmentally rele-
tally change my whole demeanor when I walk
into the room. They're therapeuticl'says Oakes.
And the creepy crawlers? "Theyve always been
vantl'Though her modeling agen-
my thingi' she adds, noting that she'slicensed
to own Black African millipedes. "I didnt real-
cy at the time was supportive of
her objective, it was not equipped
ize they were so important in my life until college, when my bio professor would let me take
to help her achieve it. But some of
the clients she modeled for sug-
the leecheshome and my entomology teachers
flet me take] the spiders and cockroaches. I
gestedshe open her own business
started raising insects when I was really young,
so I didnt realize until I was older that it was
able fashion projects that didnt
require her to pose for cameras.
abnormal to most people.
"I'm still shocked that I came to New York
Shetook the leap and established
her firm that September, later
and consult for them on sustain-
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partnering with Group SJR,a fellow
consultancy specializing in content
creation and curation, to keep the clients coming.
"It took a lot of hard work, putting
myself out there and building connections while modelingi' Oakessays
about creating her company."I often
got a chance to have solid conversa-
to
concentrate
on
other
endeavors, says,
"Source4Stylewas the result of wanting to help more
brands be self-sufficientl'
The biggest challengesthat Oakeshas encountered in
marrying fashion and environmental responsibility are
first spreadingthe messageand then figuring out how to
nurture the union. "Public relations and communications
only take you so farj' shenotes."Fortunately,nou'material
tions with the heads of fashion com-
scientistsand sustainablemanagersare getting the right
products out there.The marketplacehas becomeverypro-
panies and organizations,and when
people started paying attention to
gressive.
"When I first started, I had beauty companieswanting
this concept of sustainabilityin fashion, I becamethe go-to person for it
to workwith me and for me to be greenlbut theywouldn't
sign a contract for them to be green,"'she offers,with an
"I want authenair of disbeliefat their disingenuousness.
on a certain level. I was modeling for
envirclnmentalawareness,but I also
began writing about it and making
that iransition into mediai'
ticity, to fbcus on change in the industry and know that
people believethat changeis happening,
"I've been extremelyluclq, and humbled that I'm able to
She left her modeling agency the
fbllowing year and forged ahead, ad-
do something that I love and craft it into my world, but
I've situated my life to be very nimble. I'm the tlpe of per-
vising Portico on its linen line and
prepping her style guide. She also
accepted select clients outside the
son who likes to start things. I can chart the course and
steerthe ship for a while, work reallyhard, but I don t want
fashion realm, collaborating with
Yale on climate change and helping
Discovery Communications launch
Planet Green,the "first-ever 24-hour
televisionnetwork dedicatedsolelyto
green lif'estyle programmingi' Oakes
also served as on-air talent, and she
soon garnerednotice beyondthe television screen.
In 2009 she signed with Next Mod-
to steer that ship for the rest of my life. I need to be out
there trailblazing.I like to be the person with the machete
hacking out the bushes.When you have to haveyourJohn
Deeretractor to maintain the lawn. it becomesa little bit
too domesticfor mel'
Currently at the forefront of her agenda is a conversational video series, aptly titled Summer Rayne Oakes
Conversations,accessible online at The Hffington Post,
mindbodygreen.com, elephantjournal.com, and other
outlets. Oakesspeakswith a variety of figures worldwide,
including photojournalist SteveMcCurry and anthropolo-
el Management-a global model- gist Wade Davis,who sharethe trying times they ve faced
ing powerhouse that has connected in pushing humanity forward.
her with brands she can stand byAs for her long-term plans,she says,"I don't know where
and co-fbunded the highly success- I'll be five to 10 yearsfrom now When I got out of college,
ful Source4Style. The enterprise, I thought Id be working on giant eco-basedmanagement
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which was named the 20ll Cartier
Women's Initiative Award Winner
projects. Sustainablefashion wasn't even a term back
then, but it's a new world and, thankfully,people now have
for North America, has grown dramatically in its short life, today ca-
it in their lexicon.
"I'm in a very creative zone at this point. I have a f'ewdifferent partners on a few different projects. I'm co-writing
tering to designersin more than 80
countries and featuring thousands
two TVpilots and a script, and I'm thinking about possibly
of textiles from more than 30, many
of them developing nations. Oakes,
doing another book. The basis of all of them obviouslyhas
to do with the environment. That's the thread that runs
who has since stepped away as CEO
through everythingI do...always!"LM