Coco Eco Magazine

Would the Real Ms. Rutherford Please Stand Up?

Imagine a green spectrum with say Ed Begley Jr at one end and Donald Trump at the other.  While preparing to interview actress Kelly Rutherford I became obsessed with a pre-conceived idea that the Prius-driving actress would firmly reside at the ‘Living with Ed’ end of this spectrum while the character she portrays on Gossip Girl, Lily Van de Woodsen, would be largin’ it with The Donald.  What a delicious juxtaposition I had conjured in my mind: organic LA Mommy versus materialistic upper Eastside snob.  Well, it didn’t quite turn out to be a case of granola versus Gucci.

I meet Rutherford at Le Pain Quotidien in Beverly Hills, a restaurant she frequents in every city she visits.  Scribbling in her l powder blue Hermes day planner, Rutherford (41) was fresh-faced and preppy in a blue gingham button down.  With her enviably slim physique, it was hard imagine her she gave birth to her second child a mere six months ago.  It’s all down to nursing, which apparently “Gets you back into your skinny jeans pretty quickly!”

Despite being knee deep in a difficult divorce, the mother of two (son Hermes 3 and daughter Helena 6 months) was philosophical, upbeat and refreshingly candid.

SB: When did the environmental bell toll for you?
KR: When Mrs Gooch’s opened in Beverly Hills.  My mother was into health and nutrition and used to buy us organic cakes and cookies when we were young. I moved to LA to act when I was 19 or 20 and I remember buying 7th generation products for my home.  I’d recycle and read about nutrition and health. Then when I got pregnant it really changed, I started thinking more globally. I got a Prius. 

SB: Why a Prius?
KR: I was at a point in my life where I wanted to simplify but didn’t know how to.  I love the design of the Prius, how quiet it is and love that I don’t have to get gas every week.  After I bought mine, my Mom got one too and Dad got a Lexus hybrid.

SB: How is your lifestyle green?
KR: I do lot of small things.   I don’t run the water when I brush my teeth; I’m teaching Hermes about that. I take short showers (mostly); I use reusable bags; I eat organic, and I use my position to speak out about the environment.

SB: Is your son Hermes named after the French fashion house?
KR: You know I’ve loved that name for 20 years.  It means Messenger of the Gods.  I had to find a name that would go with his middle name, Gustav — so it’s Hermes Gustav.  I did think, “Can I actually name my son Hermes?”

SB: What causes do you support?
KR: Healthy Child Healthy World.

SB: Who are you heroes?
KR: Alicia Silverstone, Richard Branson, Al Gore for An Inconvenient Truth. Anyone that’s in the field of creating products that are healthy are my heroes — the more we have to choose from the more people will gravitate to that area.  The economy is shifting and there’s great opportunity in that.  For example, to-go containers in restaurants — we know they can be biodegradable so why aren’t they all like that?

SB: You sound entrepreneurial…
KR: I am.  I have so many ideas! Ideally I’d like to open eco play centers for kids in low income areas, as well as high income areas, where people can drop off their gently used toys.  I have enough toys in my home to open an entire play center on my own.  You could have organic mac and cheese and hot dogs without nitrates for the kids.  Moms could have organic lattes.

SB: Okay, let’s talk Gossip Girl.  The character that you play on Gossip Girl is wealthy socialite.  How is your life different from hers?
KR: Well I’m not a wealthy socialite, I’m a working actor (ha, ha!). I drive a Prius, she has a driver.  I’m much more Californian, spiritual and into the organic lifestyle. Lily doesn’t compost and she wouldn’t carry a reusable bag.  It’s not that its not happening on the Upper East Side, it’s just that Lily is from a different era.  If she were a Mother in Brooklyn, maybe she’d be carrying a reusable bag.

SB: Are you alike in any way?
KR: We’re both mothers. We both love our children.  I know people like Lily in the Upper East Side. I was in those circles but more as an observer.  In many way we are very alike, it’s just our worlds are very different.

SB: Describe Lily in five words
KR: Luxurious, witty, goofy, maternal, love’s life.

SB: Describe Kelly in five words
KR: Simple, loving, nurturing, kind, materialistic (for beautiful things).

SB: Quick fire round….
Designer: J Crew, Amber Sakai, Beyond Yoga, Tom’s shoes
Skincare: La Mer, Jurlique
Car: Range Rover (but I’d buy a used one)
Bag: Hermes Birkin bag, Hermes Kelly bag, FEED bag for groceries
Shoes: Todds, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Lanvin flats, Toms Shoes
Restaurants: Le Pain Quotidien, La Scala, Serafina
Products: 7th Generation, Method, Nature’s Gate Toothpaste

SB: If you could change one thing in the world who would it be?
KR: Legislation.

SB: New Years resolution?
KR: To get back into yoga.

SB: What’s next?
KR: I’m shifting my focus.  I always like to visualize the next year with images. It helps me keep focus and manifest.  I did it when I was 20 years old and just starting out as an actor.  I wanted a Range Rover. I put a picture of one up on my wall and I manifested it that same year. I’d also like to start speaking more and sharing in whatever way I can. I just want to be useful.

Kelly Rutherford loves Range Rovers yet drives a Prius, is as enamored with 7th generation cleaners as she is the Hermes Birkin bag, and claims to be simple yet materialistic.  Sure this might sounds somewhat paradoxical.  But unlike some celebrities, Kelly is honest about the temptations faced by an eco savvy, style conscious women in our modern society.  As for Lily, I think the Gossip Girl writers need to get her carrying a reusable bag.  Or composting. 

Global Green is synonymous with celebrity.  From Leonardo DiCaprio to Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford to Cameron Diaz, all of Hollywood’s socially conscious heavy-hitters are in with Global Green. Which isn’t surprising given LA-based non-profit’s background.  Global Green is the US affiliate of Green Cross, which was founded by none other than Perestroika superstar himself, Mikhail Gorbachev.  But how did this all come about?  To find out the answer to this and many other questions, I headed to Global Green’s HQ on Main Street in Santa Monica

I found Global Green CEO, Matt Petersen (42), in his modest office dressed in organic threads, commuter cup in hand, bike casually thrown against a bookcase.  He, like the rest of his staff, embody the green movement.  And their homey office — complete with recycling bins, dual flushing toilets and bountiful pot plants — is in stark contrast the glitz and glamour of their annual Oscar bash.  But more on that later….

SB: What was Gorbachev’s vision for Green Cross and how is Global Green fulfilling that?
  
MP: Gorbachev had a vision for the need to connect humanity with the environment; in order for humanity to survive it would have to live in harmony with nature. We’re addressing three of the greatest challenges facing humanity: eliminating weapons of mass destruction, ensuring access to clean water and combating climate change. We’ve also worked on green schools, green cities, green building programs as well as sustainability programs.  All that came together when Hurricane Katrina happened and we mobilized to go down to New Orleans to help.

SB: What is the role of non-profits in solving our planetary woes?

MP: Non-profits can play a role as catalysts but what I’m really interested in is notion of social entrepreneurship where non-profits — lead by interesting, dynamic people – take risks and make things happen that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to make happen.  Social entrepreneurs exist in other worlds, in government they do but they have a harder time because they have many more constraints and same in the business world but they are also constrained by the markets this notion that you have increase shareholder value by ridiculous amounts every quarter, 20% rates of returns and endless growth, the system on both sides is screwed up. We need to start valuing the non-profit sector and the work of social entrepreneurs.

SB: Is the media doing a good job?  What stories should they be telling that they currently are not?

MP: The media only tells stories that they think are going to sell advertising, now that’s a crass generalization, but when they tell stories about non-profits they don’t get great ratings. There are some exceptions.  I think CNN’s Heroes and Discovery’s Planet Green are great and then there’s niche media that’s going on online and in print.  The upshot is I don’t the media is doing an adequate job.  It was doing a better job in the run up to the Inconvenient Truth. We did some great things too – getting stars into hybrid cars at the Oscars, working with Leonardo DiCaprio over the years and working with Brad Pitt in New Orleans.  We broke through the media clutter and helped get the message out. Media loves celebrity and it helps get their attention.

SB: No kidding.  How did Global Green start working with celebrities?

MP: For a long time I resisted working with Hollywood despite being here.  I didn’t feel it was priority. But then in 2001, 2002 I began thinking how do we get thru to the next level.  There’s a parable called “Diamonds Are At Your Feet” about a man who goes searching for riches and after losing everything comes back home to discover that what he wanted was right there all the time.  I remembered that story when I was talking to a friend of mine who said: “Why don’t you start a committee and invite celebrities?” It was just one of those times when someone gave you the right idea and the confidence to go out and do it.  Cut to 2002 and the Summit on Sustainable Development.  The media wasn’t giving it any attention.  Zippo, nothing.  So in mid August we organized a conference asking for Bush to go as well as organizing a petition on climate change.  We sent out a bunch of invitation to celebrities and the one person that responded was Leonardo Di Caprio. Leo wrote a speech for the event and invited his friends, Cameron Diaz and Toby Maguire. 

SB: Lemme guess, the media got interested?

MP: Yes.  The resulting press event got more coverage than the World Summit on Sustainable Development.  ET did a two-minute story on it; and Extra did a five minute story.  At that stage you’d never seen that much coverage for an environmental story in the popular press.  It was a huge breakthrough.  We recognized that it’s an unfortunate necessity that we have to use celebrities. But we’d obviously hit on something.  I know it’s not rocket science, but we’re able to put together the right combination of substance and platform for the celebrity and we get to work with them to make them comfortable for them to partner with us.

SB: Tell me about how the Prius became the celebrity’s vehicle du jour for award shows?

MP: That was started by our Red Carpet Green Cars campaign where we got celebrities to drive hybrid cars to the Oscars.  It was intended in part to be a silent protest in the run up to the Iraq War and the need for fuel efficiency as well as more domestic initiatives to reduce our dependence on oil.  Cameron Diaz, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Harrison Ford and Calista Flockart were amongst the first ones to do it and that was back when the Prius was the little tin can!

SB: Speaking of the Oscars, your party is one of the hottest tickets in town.  Who was there this year? 

MP: Gavin Rossdale and Sheryl Crowe were there, they put on an amazing show, Heather Graham, Rosario Dawson, Leonardo DiCaprio, James Cromwell, Ed Begley Jr….

SB:  Impressive. Okay, it’s all about you now.  Enlighten me on a typical day in your life.

MP: Ha! Healthy breakfast.  Coffee — always from my commuter cup — which seems to confuse some Starbucks baristas I’ve encountered, especially the ones I encounter while traveling (now, if I come across any uncooperative ones I’ll blast them on facebook). Check emails.  Meet with my staff to find out how we’re going to raise money we need to accomplish our projects and achieve our policy goals.  Gym.  Play basketball or soccer with my son.  Spend time with my girlfriend.

SB: Okay, quick fire round.  Favorite non-profits?
MP: RAN, Ceres.

SB: Green people you admire?
MP: David Ore, Paul Hawkin, Sheila Watt Cloutier.

SB: Favorite eco-threads?
MP: Simple shoes, Loomstate jeans, Paul Smith organic cotton dress shirts as well as one killer designer suit (Zegna, Armani) that I’ll wear forever.  Seriously, if you look at any photo of me and Brad Pitt, you’ll see I’m always wearing the same suit!

SB: Eco sins?
MP: Travel (work-related) and take-out.

SB: One thing we can do to save the world?
MP: Reduce electricity consumption.

Days after my interview with Petersen, the “Diamonds At Your Feet” parable had stayed with me.  What hidden gems would I discover in my own sphere of consciousness if I just looked at things a different way?  One thing I knew, it probably wouldn’t be as bling-tastic as Leonardo DiCaprio.

Young Hollywood is mostly synonymous with a bunch of vacuous brats who are “green” because Leo is or because their publicists told them to.  So it was refreshing to meet actress Rachel Leigh Cook – a clever, candid and considered actress who had obviously given real thought to the threat of climate change.  Fresh-faced, doe-eyed and skewing much younger than her almost 30 years, Rachel Leigh Cook reminded me of a young Winona Ryder.  Eyes aside, what struck me most about Cook was her laid-back, unassuming attitude and oodles of patience, which unbeknownst to her, was soon to be tested.

Anyone who’s worked in production knows what it’s like when things don’t go according to plan.  It’s annoying.  As annoying as say a petroleum-fuelled blower within ear, nose and throat shot.  The day of Rachel Leigh Cook’s cover shoot was just one of those days.  Unforeseen construction on Malibu beach lead to a last minute change of location, which meant moving ten people, a ton of gear and what seemed like 75 cars, ten miles up the Pacific Coast Highway to stunningly remote beach location with zilch parking, zero restrooms and no cell phone reception.  Add to that. mislaid gear, hell-ish school holiday traffic and some horribly lost crewmembers and you get the picture.  Anyone with slightly diva-esque tendencies had already lost it.  But this isn’t about me.  To her credit, Cook remained calm and good-humored throughout. 

Cook maybe best known for her lead role in the 1999 hit movie, She’s All That, but has an impressive resume of film and TV credits including: Nancy Drew, Blonde Ambition, Las Vegas, Dawson’s Creek and Josie and the Pussycats.  An early performance for the PSA, Your Brain is On Drugs, showcased her acting chops and impressive frying pan-wielding skills.  A native of Minnesota, Cook now resides in Los Angeles with her Canadian born, New Zealand raised actor/director husband, Daniel Gillies, her two dogs and her vegetarian lifestyle.  Here are Cook’s thoughtful answers to my interview questions, conducted at above-mentioned remote location with recording equipment in the back of an illegally parked hot Prius.

SB: How long have you been green?
RLC: I don’t know if I could consider myself fully green.  When I think of someone as being “green”, I think of the ideal carbon neutral life and I don’t know if I’m there yet.  I think I’m aspiring green.

SB: And why are you aspiring?
RLC:It’s the right thing to do.  I’m consistently surprised to see people who want to tempt fate with their beliefs about the myth of global warming.  That’s really terrifying to me.  So I think I have to over compensate for some people who aren’t with the program.

SB: What green stuff do you do?
RLC:I’m a borderline obsessive-compulsive recycler.  That’s probably my main green effort.  I can’t even throw the lid to a soda cup at a movie theater in the garbage can when I’m done.  I will shake it off and wipe it on my jeans and put in my purse and recycle it when I go home. I can’t consciously not recycle.  So little things like that.  I’m going to try to compost. My pickier neighbor has since moved away, so if my efforts are a bit smelly I think my new neighbors will understand.

SB: 25% of all household waste is compostable, so your efforts will make a difference. How long have you been a vegetarian?
RLC:Let’s see….it’ll be almost sixteen years.  I’ll be 30 in October and I guess I was 14, 15 when I started that.  I was thrilled to find out that being a vegetarian was such a good, green thing to do.  I heard people who were regular meat eaters produce a ton of carbon emissions a year.  And that really blew my mind.  Being vegetarian is not for everybody. I’m not a pusher of it.  I do partake in some leather goods but I don’t feel too horrible about that because the animal probably got eaten.

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White Square Cuff, White Lily Bangle, Coral Lily Bangle all by Isharya, www.isharya.com

SB: Would you ever consider going vegan?
RLC:I think that seems like a lot of work.  And I like cheese too much.

SB: Do you support any causes?
RLC:I definitely like to get the word out on green fashion.  Why not?  When you can do something that’s more globally conscious and help out our economy.  I’m really impressed by this publication and I’m learning a lot from it already.

SB: How do you think Obama is doing on the environment?
RLC:I think one of his campaign platforms was to reduce CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050?  And I love that he wants the US to make the green cars of the future.  I think that’s so smart.  In the meantime, what he’s doing with healthcare is so incredibly important.  I think it’s good that green is working at a grassroots level. Of course, we need the government to push these things through the legislature and make real action.  But 1% at a time is the way it’s really going to happen.

Midnight Blue Puridee Ahimsa Silk Gown,
French 1930’s vintage necklace and bracelet, both at Vie Bungalow, www.viebungalow.com

SB: Describe your style: what are you wearing right now?
RLC:Oh gosh, I don’t know.  Probably H&M shirt, BCBG shorts that I love…. I’m excited about the clothes (for today’s shoot).  My style is about anything that can survive having a lot of dog hair on it.  I wish that there were something productive we could do with all of the hair that my animals are producing.
SB: You can compost hair…
RLC:That’s right.  I heard it’s a good fertilizer… I have a lot of fertilizer for anyone who needs it.

SB: What’s in your make-up bag?
I have no idea.  Probably the only I don’t leave home without is concealer and chapstick.  That’s about all you need.
SB: That’s certainly all you need.

SB: Favorite place in whole world and why?
RLC:I have a real sentimental attachment to Minnesota.  I grew up in Minneapolis and love the lakes around there and the house I grew up in.  I guess it’s just a sentimental thing, it’s hard to describe why.

SB: If you could instantly make one thing on the earth disappear, what would it be?
RLC:That plastic island that’s floating in the ocean that’s miles wide and miles deep…

SB: I heard it’s twice the size of Texas?
RLC:Yeah, it blew my mind.  I would banish plastic bags.

SB: Okay, now the fun part.  I’ve got some hypotheticals for you…
Scenario number one: You’re out walking your two dogs and you see another dog poo but its owner doesn’t pick it up, what do you do?
RLC:Sorry, I’m not…(laughs).  Okay here’s what I will do: my husband does have something called the karma poo.  If you run out of bags and you can’t pick up your own dog’s poo; when you do have more bags, you have to pick up somebody elses.  But with my dogs, I always pick up.  We use biodegradable bags too.  So in terms of stranger poo.  No.  You’re on your own.  Terribly sorry.

SB: Scenario number two:  You’ve got an audition with Scorsese.  But the only way to get there is in your girlfriend’s Hummer, what do you do?
RLC:Wow.  Well you gotta take it.  How far is it?  Could I possibly walk?  Well if I had to ride in the Hummer I certainly wouldn’t let anybody there see me in it, because that’s disgraceful.  I’d probably have her drop me off around the corner.

SB: Onto work now — what project has been the most rewarding to date?
RLC:Working with my husband on a movie he’s written and is now directing. We’re about midway through shooting. It’s called Broken Kingdom. It takes place both in Los Angeles and in Bogota, Columbia.  It’s his goal to put a spotlight on third world countries that are in our backyard.  The story is largely about the people of Bogota and some of their struggles, not just with living in that country, but of their everyday lives. It’s a really special project because it has such a global perspective.  I think in the West it’s really easy for people just to deal with their daily everyday needs and not really see what a big place this world is. He’s a warrior and very much a humanitarian and I think that his film can do a lot of good for a lot of people.

SB: What project are you working on now?
RLC:Right now I’m about to go back to work on a show called Psych, which is on USA Networks.  It’s in its fourth season and I’m the girlfriend of the main character who is a fake psychic detective. The main character is played by an actor called James Roday.  The show’s mostly a two-hander between him and another actor, who I just love, named Dule Hill.  I worked with him back in ‘98 on a movie called She’s All That, a million years ago.  He’s from West Wing and numerous other things but he’s brilliant at comedy.  They’re a great duo.  The show is a lot of fun to work on, the people are great, it’s a laid back set.  It’s been a great experience.

SB: What will we see you in next?
RLC:Probably Psych, which premieres on August 7th.  And you’ll be hearing me in Titan Maximum, which is an animated show that my friends Seth Green and Matt Senreich co-created on Cartoon Network.  We’ve recorded a season’s worth of episodes, which has been great fun.  The show premieres later this year.  I’m excited about it.

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Aster Filigree Bib Necklace by Isharya, www.isharya.com

Interview completed, Cook politely steps out of the car and patiently waits some more, until finally it’s time to head down a precarious pathway to a stunning beachy backdrop for her long-awaited cover shoot.  Leaving me with the impression that: she really is all that.