Gwyneth Paltrow Rolls in the Green

Welcome to our Guest Blogger from the West Coast, Katherine Butler.

You know how it is.  You’ve been green for years before it was cool.  You’ve been recycling since you had to drive it to a different county, you’ve sent your allowance off to the Sierra Club, and you’ve sighed over signs stuck in the middle of corn fields reading “New luxury homes, starting in the 500s!”  And now the rest of the world has caught up with you.  Now everyone recycles, everyone drives a Prius, and everyone has green on the brain.  (Everyone, that is, if you live in Hollywood.  Which I do.)  And it’s not so bad that celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Adrian Grenier, and Sheryl Crow are bringing green to the forefront.  Maybe they’re not doing it to be cool.  Maybe they really believe!  Right?

Wrong!  Or at least wrong in the case of Gwyneth Paltrow.  (more)

Ms. Paltrow rides to the Oscars in hybrids, gets pal-sy with Al Gore, and urges Americans to “act green” by promoting causes like Act Green.

She’s even credited with promoting an organic lifestyle.  As the starlet proclaims, “When I’d read about what pesticides do to small animals, I thought, Why would I expose my child to that? …I just want my kids to be as healthy as they possibly can. And I feel like eating well is the best start for living well.”

But the latest news in the greenosphere shows the actress apparently likes all kinds of green.  Paltrow is causing a stir by promoting the new fall collection of fur-lined boots and bags from Tod’s.  This is also a company that uses ostrich and snakeskin in its products.

Animal rights groups have gone after the Hollywood Princess with a vengeance.  PETA claims “Gwyneth Paltrow won’t be the apple of her daughter’s eye if she continues to flaunt fur.”  While Mark Glover of Respect for Animals decrees “Gwyneth Paltrow should be ashamed to promote something so steeped in animal suffering.”  Reports even have her BFF status with Stella McCartney threatened, as the Rock Princess famously promotes animal rights in her fashion line.  This is certainly a mark in the green record of this Hollywood darling.  Meanwhile, the rest of us will try to pick up the pieces of our disillusioned lives.  But seriously people, what’s next, Leo in a Hummer?  How could we stand it?