Summer Rayne Oakes

Summer Rayne Oakes is an American-born model, activist, and television host known for her social entrepreneur work in ecofashion and related sustainability ventures. Because of her close ties to the environment, she is often referred to as "The Eco-model."
Education
Oakes attended Lakeland Jr./Sr. High School. In her community, Oakes was the youngest board member of the Environmental Advisory Council.
She graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelors of Science in Natural Resources and Entomology.
Oakes is a Udall Scholar and National Wildlife Federation Fellow. Upon winning the Udall Environmental Scholarship, Summer Rayne said she was looking to become an ecosystem manager and work to improve conservation programs "by successfully integrating human dimension aspects, scientific research and the intrinsic value of nature into comprehensive management plans." "Sewage Biosolids Land Application: Reported Health Incidents," and "Organic Chemicals in Sewage Sludge". She also worked in the Aquatics Laboratory of the Department of Entomology on stream water quality studies, and studied rainforest regeneration in the Central Highlands of the Dominican Republic. Oakes also was an environmental lobbyist for the Long Island Neighborhood Network against pesticide application. for exclusively aligning her career with environmentally- and socially-conscious companies, designers, and projects as both a model and sustainability strategist.
Oakes began modeling while attending Cornell University. She was approached by a Philadelphia-based modeling agency, but signed with Boss Models upon graduation. Her first project brought attention to sustainable fashion and rainforest conservation with photographer John F. Cooper and stylist Peter Brown's Organic Portraits series from 2001-2004. She is currently represented by NEXT Model Management and Chic Celebrity in Australia
Her fusion of values-based modeling, business, and activism has garnered much international interest. Her first full-paged interview, orchestrated by fellow environmental activist Remy Chevalier, came in 2004 for Lucire:

"Summer Rayne Oakes may be the archetype of the twenty-first century supermodel. While the "s" word has not been applied by the media yet, she has all the ingredients that make one in the modern context: an active involvement in environmental causes, an intelligence quotient that hovers in the 180 mark, and a sexy, smouldering look. However, what makes Oakes tick? This is a Cornell graduate with degrees in entomology and natural resources, the winner of numerous academic awards - certainly not the twentieth century's idea of the model. If she has a fault, it may be that she is ahead of her time, and the world is catching up."

Oakes has modeled for Levi Strauss & Co., Nicole Miller, Replay Jeans, and others. In April 2009, she launched a collection of eco-friendly bedding and bath products with Portico Home and an environmentally-preferable shoe line with Payless ShoeSource called "zoe&zac," for which she is the model, spokesperson and sustainability strategist.,,. In 2011 she signed with Aveeno as a spokesperson for the Be an Active Natural Campaign.
Books & Magazines
On September 5, 2005, Oakes launched "Behind the Label", a monthly sustainable style editorial produced for Lucire, which became the first international editorial completely devoted to ethical and eco-conscious fashion designers. On October 23, 2006, Oakes took over as acting editor for the magazine. In September 2006, she also launched the S4 Newsletter, reporting on sustainability trends in fashion, which is relaunching as a B-2-B marketplace for sustainable designers in 2010.
In February 2009, Oakes released her first book, "Style, Naturally: The Savvy Shopping Guide to Sustainable Fashion and Beauty," which became an Amazon.com Bestseller.,. She says the book is "aimed at women who love style but may not have "environment" or "green" in their lexicon" and an "irreverent, witty guide for green virgins."
In November 2009, Oakes accepted the Editor-at-Large position at Above Magazine which was once occupied by Charlotte Casiraghi. She writes articles and produces for the magazine. She was featured in the Winter 2009 issue in an editorial by photographer Gilles Bensimon.
She previously wrote the "Ask Summer Rayne" column for PlanetGreen.com; fashion and beauty tips for Recyclebank.com, and Huffington Post.
Television
In early 2008, Oakes was named spokesperson, resident expert, host, and board adviser for Planet Green Channel, a 24-7 hour network devoted to the environment launching in the United States in June 2008. She also previously co-hosted Eco 4 the World with Andrew Patterson created by Big Durian Productions in Singapore.
Companies
Oakes founded her first company SRO, LLC in July 2005. In October 2010 she launched Source4Style, a B2B online marketplace connecting designers to sustainable suppliers around the globe and was named a 2011 Gamechanger by NY Enterprise Report.
Awards
She has been honored by Vanity Fair as "A Global Citizen", Outside Magazine as a "Green All-Star", Cosmopolitan "Fun, Fearless Female", AMICA's "Top 20 Trendsetters under 40", Shape magazine's "Women Who Inspire Us", CNN "Young People Who Rock", Glamours "70 Women of Green", and Earth First's "Hottest Girl in Green".
Environmental work
Oakes is actively involved in environmental causes. She is most known for her work in sustainable fashion and beauty but is actively involved in the youth climate change movement through Energy Action Coalition; Green-collar jobs; sustainable development in Africa; and reforestation/ecosystem conservation efforts.
In September 2005, Oakes designed and launched an educational curriculum entitled ECOFASHION 101, which links pop culture, fashion, and mainstream media into traditional subject topics.
In December 2005, Oakes attended the Fair Trade Expo at the World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong to represent the international fair trade movement.
In October 2007, Oakes was part of a donor-funder trip to Great Bear National Rainforest, the last contiguous coastal temperate rainforest in the world and home of the Kermode bear. In November 2007, she helped organize and lobby for the first time on Capitol Hill with the youth-run group, Energy Action on the case of global warming. She was one of 6,000 young people who participated in the largest lobby day and summit on climate change.
That same month, Oakes left to Africa for a shoe drop with TOMS Shoes in South Africa and an annual sustainable development trip to Mozambique.
In June 2008, she wrote an op-ed for her local Pennsylvania paper on green-collar jobs to urge the community and the government to take political action.
In February 2009 during New York Fashion Week, Oakes helped stage an event called "Don't Bag Indonesia's Rainforests" with Rainforest Action Network(RAN) and Tiffany & Co. They identified over 100 fashion companies unknowingly using endangered Indonesian forests in luxury shopping bags. The campaign was considered successful since most fashion companies pulled out and one of the major packaging suppliers (Pak 2000) announced its separation from Asia Pulp & Paper.

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