Men Care About Sustainable Living, Too — Just Look at These Influencers and Activists

It’s hard to deny that most of the zero-waste, sustainable living, and vegan influencers on the internet are women. This is really no surprise, considering that some studies have actually found men to have a higher environmental impact than women; while others have found that certain men resist eco-friendly actions such as recycling, for fear of being perceived as feminine or gay.

Basically, we seriously need to show men that the sustainable living movement is not only important, but also cool — and something that may help the men in your life level up is encouraging them to follow male sustainability influencers.

So, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite men content creators who regularly post about sustainable living, climate activism, and other related topics, on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

With a million Instagram followers, Max La Manna’s “easy recipes that fight food waste” are clearly widely beloved. The zero-waste and vegan chef is originally from the U.S., and is now based in London, and he regularly posts recipe videos on Instagram and YouTube of plant-based meals, often from the lens of reducing food waste. La Manna is also the author of a cookbook called More Plants Less Waste, which is filled with incredible vegan recipes and tips for eliminating food waste in the kitchen.

“Everything we do affects everyone else. Whether we buy something or we say something, our actions have vibrations,” La Manna told Green Matters in an exclusive interview.

Better known as @whatsgoodberto on Instagram, Berto Calkins is a YouTuber, Instagrammer, and podcaster, who regularly documents his vegan lifestyle, wellness and fitness journey, and worldwide travels. Calkins proves that getting buff on a vegan diet is entirely possible, and the foodie’s “what I eat in a day” YouTube videos prove that he isn’t sacrificing anything by eating plant-based.

In August 2020, Alex Haraus moved into his Subaru Outback, exchanging his life on land for one on the road and amongst nature. Since then, he has used TikTok to document his low-impact, minimalistic, nomadic lifestyle, as well as encourage his followers to take climate action. For instance, he recently encouraged his TikTok followers to write to the government to save the Boundary Waters from mining, and Haraus says that around 250,000 TikTokers wrote letters.

“If there is anyone reading this that has a cause that they're passionate about, or has a change that they want to see in the world, I really, really want to encourage them to get out and do that, and chase that dream,” Haraus told Green Matters in a 2021 interview.

Kevin J. Patel is the founder of the OneUpAction International, a nonprofit that aims to fight environmental justice and the climate crisis, and support and educate marginalized youth so they can work towards these goals in their own communities.

Patel identifies as both a climate optimist and realist, and on his Instagram, he consistently shares educational posts about climate justice, posts to inspire his audience to be hopeful and take action, musings on life, tips about sustainable living, and more. Patel is also a member of the Intersectional Environmentalist Council.

Rob Greenfield is a fairly well-known activist in environmental circles. Greenfield’s Instagram is dedicated to climate education, promoting sustainable living, and empowering followers to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Greenfield’s sustainability journey isn’t quite like anyone else’s, and he often documents his unique efforts on social media.

Additionally, Greenfield is the author of several books, including Food Freedom, which chronicles the year he spent solely eating food he grew or foraged on his own, and Dude Making a Difference, about the year he spent biking across the U.S., avoiding fossil fuels, and reducing his environmental footprint exponentially. He also has a kids’ book coming out in April 2022 called Be the Change, which aims to help children feel more hopeful, and inspire them to protect the planet.

Green Matters’ new book, Green Living, is the perfect guide to living an eco-friendly lifestyle for people at every stage of the process. You can order Green Living here.