Meet Rachel Avalon, Project Green Search's New "It" Girl

Rachel Avalon wears a Stewart + Brown neck cuff and organic cotton dress.
Image by Todd Westphal.

Rachel Avalon is our new green “It” girl! Rachel won the inaugural Project Green Search model competition (read more about the contest here) and she is as excited as a green girl could be. She says about winning:

I recognize that there are countless, amazing people out there who are making a real difference through simple steps, policy changes, career paths, the media, products, and volunteerism. I am just honored to be a part of the process and to have this kind of platform to inspire more people.

Rachel is a green living, detoxification and holistic nutrition expert and her unflagging energy and enthusiasm throughout the PGS competition proved that (it was a long and tough 2 days, during which the finalists guerilla gardened, shot reams of photos, modelled in a runway show, and more). With her new position, she hopes to influence even more people to go green:

I really hope to make the most of 2010. So often you hear people in the green movement joking about preaching to the choir. My hope is to dramatically expand that choir and get everyone singing!

Rachel Avalon wears an EcoSkin dress and SmartGlass earrings.Image by Todd Westphal

Rachel’s core environmental connections come to her through what she puts in her body; like many of us, food and nutrition helped her understand how connected we are to the health of the planet. Growing up with a mom who was passionate about gardening and other environmental concerns, as well as the increasingly obvious realities of global warming and other human-caused eco problems put her on the path to green awareness and outreach. And now she has the perfect platform to do so! Says Rachel:

Scientists have proven that agricultural chemicals and petro-packaging materials are contaminating the soil, water, air and the food we ingest. It’s no coincidence that cancer rates are on the rise and that other species are suffering as well. Of course, there are more pieces to the puzzle. I believe GMOs are also a major threat to nature’s infinite wisdom and design along with the brutal reality of factory-farming.

Not only is there a total lack of reverence towards life that is embedded in those business practices, but most of the meat people eat in this country is pumped full of antibiotics, hormones, and corn. That undermines everyone’s health plus ecosystems as far reaching as the oceans. There is no doubt in my mind that we need to support organic farming and eat less or no meat. In fact the U.N. published a report a couple years ago stating that Americans could have a greater impact on climate change and pollution by adopting that priority than by driving hybrids. I say, let’s do both!

Rachel Avalon comments on her new title and gives thanks!

Check out Rachel’s awesome podcast here!
Rachel Avalon’s website is here, so you can learn more about her future plans as PGS winner.