Nikki Reed Shares Her “Green Routine” in Honor of New Vegan Shoe Line (Exclusive)

Actress Nikki Reed is best known for starring The Twilight Saga and Thirteen (which she co-wrote as a teenager). But the actress is also a passionate environmentalist and animal advocate, she has her own recycled jewelry company called Bayou With Love, and she has partnered with a number of sustainability initiatives, animal rights organizations, and eco-conscious brands over the past few years. 

Most recently, Nikki Reed partnered with shoe company Loci to launch a line of sustainable vegan sneakers, called Reed x Loci.

“This collaboration was the result of my love for sustainable fashion coupled with Loci’s expert experience in the consciously-made shoe arena,” Reed tells Green Matters in an email. “I have such an appreciation for style and fashion, but I also care so deeply about the planet, so I am incredibly particular about the products I wear and personally create.”

The original Loci Vegan Sneaker comes in a variety of colors, but the Reed x Loci line introduces four new options: natural, beige, and sage with white outsoles, and beige with a gum brown outsole. The shoes are handmade in Portugal with recycled ocean plastic, bamboo, and cork, and they are waterproof and breathable. The shoes retail for £135.00 (about $187 USD), and 10 percent of proceeds from the collection will be donated to ocean conservation and protecting endangered sea animals.

“I love how versatile they are,” Reed tells Green Matters about the shoes. “I want to always design with every woman in mind and I’m also a huge believer in functional fashion. Yes, it had to look good, but it also has to feel good from the inside out everything about these shoes feels good from the design to the materials used.”

Reed also added that she was inspired to work with Loci when she realized that the shoe brand has a similar mission to her jewelry company, Bayou With Love: “Creating a world where sustainability and luxury can live together,” she says.

To learn more about Reed’s personal sustainable living journey, we asked her to share her Green Routine with Green Matters. 

GREEN MATTERS: Why is protecting the planet important to you?

NIKKI REED: How we choose to treat our planet begins with our relationship with nature. Once we realize we are all connected, we begin to see the importance of how we treat all living things including the planet. Every tree, every square inch of soil, every drop from our oceans is fighting to survive right now. It’s no joke. We have to start making significant changes right now from policies that desperately need to be put in place to addressing our consumer habits. 

GM: What has your sustainability journey looked like? 

NR: I started in a very different place than I am now, and I’m proud of that. I grew up thinking it was OK to throw trash out my window, and now here I am fighting to protect our planet from all of the harmful chemicals leaching into our soil, plastics that make their way into the oceans and our bodies and more. Change is actually something we should applaud, not shy away from.

When I was 21, I had a huge wake up call. I was living overseas and got to see the world through a totally different lens. I stopped eating meat, and started doing yoga for the first time. My relationship with animals and food inspired me to think beyond myself and eventually led me to the Earth and my role in protecting her. 

GM: What is the biggest change you and your husband [Ian Somerhalder] have made together to live more sustainably?

NR: We’re always making changes because life is about learning and growing. We just installed a new hydroponics system for vegetable growing, and we use rain barrels to catch and water our plants, we compost, etc. 

But one thing that’s really important to me is learning to travel more sustainably. I pack all airplane lunches and I’ve had my same suitcase for 13 years, but inevitably with a child [Reed and Somerhalder share Bodhi, 3] you end up with packaged snacks, etc. so I’ve been trying my best to reduce as much as possible in all areas of waste. 

GM: What is the one tip you give anyone trying to go green? 

NR: Take the extra time to just do it. Clean out your containers before you toss them in recycling to ensure they will actually be recycled. Go back to your car to get your bags if you forgot them. Just take the extra minute or two to be conscious of how impactful that can be. 

GM: What is the biggest misconception about living sustainably that you have discovered? 

NR: That it’s too difficult. Yes, you have to make a few lifestyle changes but it’s totally worth it, and they can be integrated into your life seamlessly. 

"Green Routine" is a series from Green Matters that invites notable people in the environmental space to share the efforts they make to live more sustainably.