Leah Thomas — also known as Green Girl Leah on Instagram — has become something of a pioneer when it comes to diversifying the environmental movement. Reimagining nonprofits in a very Gen-Z way, Thomas founded a collective called Intersectional Environmentalist that provides services and resources for anyone willing to learn more and most recently, published a book titled The Intersectional Environmentalist.
“I will not feel okay if my work is not directly tied to the liberation of Black folks in the context of environmentalism,” Thomas told the Cut editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples. “I want to create the dream space for me and other people who look like me.” After working in sustainable spaces including Patagonia, Thomas took a leap, starting her own blog — and it has paid off. On the most recent episode of In Her Shoes, Peoples talks with Thomas about why environmentalism has to be intersectional.
Lindsay Peoples: We are talking a lot about sustainability on the Cut this month. It’s something that we talk about all the time, but it’s always something that we feel like we are trying to make new and fresh and still keep people engaged. I’m sure this is something that you also are always talking about because it does feel like sustainability is such a huge problem. And it feels like, What can we actually do? Can we actually do anything to make changes in our lives? Maybe it’s up to the big corporations, maybe it’s up to powers that be. I want to start by asking, What does it mean to you to be intersectional and environmentalist? How do you see that playing out in the world with what you do?
Leah Thomas: I’ve dabbled in sustainable apparel, working at Patagonia. I’ve been a park ranger for a little bit, worked in environmental nonprofits, and in most of these spaces, especially the ones that were kind of primarily white spaces, there was a lack of inclusion of diverse voices or even what sustainability can kind of mean to different groups of people. Unfortunately, people of color are the most impacted by the climate crisis and environmental injustice right now. So it doesn’t make a lot of sense to leave out the most vulnerable populations when we’re talking about these crises that we’re facing. Intersectional environmentalism is a kind of approach to environmentalism that doesn’t let these oversights continue by not considering who is most impacted by the climate crisis, because a lot of people of color are the bearers of their solutions, and they have solutions for the problems that they’re facing. They just need amplification and resources and things like that. So really it’s just a fancy way of saying you’re an environmentalist that cares about people and the planet at the same time, which shouldn’t be controversial, but sometimes it is.
Lindsay: Was there a specific moment for you where you were focused on sustainability and then felt like there wasn’t that connection between environmentalism and social justice that made you bring this to light more in your own life?
Leah: There’s been so many. But I think something that sticks out to me is I went to a protest about endangered salmon, and I was taking it to the streets for the salmon. And I remember not too long after, during the summer of 2020, a lot of the same people that I had gone to this protest with that worked in corporate sustainability during the Black Lives Matter movement were saying, “I don’t get what this has to do with environmentalism.” And then throughout my career, there were other moments when we’re talking about sustainable fashion, just the way that we’re talking about garment workers or things like that, making sure it’s rooted in equity and inclusion. Just different iterations of people saying racial justice is over here and environmentalism is over here. And I think during the summer of 2020, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I had protested for endangered salmon, the smallest of endangered species, like we need to advocate for endangered humans and endangered Black lives in the context of whatever environmentalism is happening. Because without that, I just don’t see why I would blend myself into that sort of cause. I just couldn’t do it anymore.
Lindsay: Has nature helped you in any way? Does it feel healing? This is really hard work, but I want to hear about the good things that it’s brought you.
Leah: A really large motivating factor of why I do this work, it’s not just motivated by environmental injustice and how it impacts the Black community or trauma surrounding environmental hazards. A lot of it is also the joy and the Black joy that I’ve been able to find in nature as a healing space during all of these terrible injustices that are happening and just kind of reshaping and reframing what it means to be an environmentalist.
It doesn’t mean that I have to summit a mountain; even with those experiences of sitting on a porch with my grandmother or walking around the block or things like that, I’m still connecting with nature. And that makes me feel so joyful. So I feel like a lot of my work is also rooted in wanting other people to have the same access to be able to go to a park, breathe in healthy air, drink clean water, so they can experience true joy and liberation at the same time.
Lindsay: We had such a social racial reckoning the past couple of years. I think this past January, I did an issue for New York Magazine about how it’s been ten years since Trayvon Martin was murdered and ten years of Black Lives Matter. Life is just in a very weird space. The pandemic, and there’s so much happening overseas. I feel like there are so many issues that people feel like they’re burnt out by it, honestly, and don’t know what to say and what to speak out for. But specifically with BLM and environmentalism, where do you think the link is still missing? And what do you want people to understand or speak up more about?
Leah: The No. 1 thing is just the right for people to breathe, or what I consider to be basic environmental human rights that everyone needs. So having clean air, clean water, things like that. The thing that concerns me is that about 71 percent of African Americans in the United States live in a county that’s in violation of or frequently violates federal air-quality standards. So 71 percent of Black folks are living in conditions that are promoting respiratory illnesses and things like that.
There’s also a lack of tree cover in a lot of Black and brown neighborhoods and communities. It’s not just for aesthetics — I like trees — but it’s also we need them to purify the air and to offer shade because we’re seeing a lot of Black and brown communities have increased temperatures, and it’s leading to negative health impacts like heatstroke. I think we need to see some of these more comprehensive solutions to the climate crisis that factor in how Black and brown communities are specifically being impacted right now. And to have that be elevated a little bit more because people deserve the right to breathe in every sense of that meaning.
Lindsay: Absolutely. Having a platform and being able to talk about these things is wonderful. But I’m also curious about how it’s been for you to be in the public spotlight talking about these things so young, and obviously social media is such a minefield. What has that experience been like for you?
Leah: It’s been interesting.
Lindsay: I always use the word interesting when I don’t know what to say.
Leah: Maybe it’s like a code-switching term for “It hasn’t been great.” But it’s been great at times too. Sometimes it is so amazing. And I think the best part is connecting with other students and kind of seeing myself in them and just coming in and saying, “Your people have always been included in environmental history. Go forth with empowerment.” That feels good because that’s what I wanted when I was an environmental student. But also there’s a lot of discrediting of the work that I do and so many people do. And I don’t know if that’s a combination of racism and sexism. But people say, “Well, we already have environmental justice, why do we need to incorporate intersectional theory into environmentalism?” And it’s like, Why not? Why are we not wanting to include the contributions of Black women in the context of what we do?
Right now, some students started a Wikipedia page for intersectional environmentalism. And professors are going back and forth in the comments saying all the reasons why that page should be merged with environmental justice and that intersectional environmentalism isn’t real. And it’s like, this is just so ridiculous that I have to do this in the first place, or two things can exist at the same time. But that used to upset me a lot more than it does now. I learned to laugh at those things a little bit, but it is frustrating. There’s a lot of white supremacy flowing through the environmental movement, which makes complete sense because people who created national parks just displaced thousands of Indigenous peoples and took their land from them. So the conservation movement is deeply rooted in white supremacy, and that pops up now and again. It’s hard to deal with, I’ll say that for sure.
Lindsay: How has your relationship changed with social media over time? I’m always personally curious about this because I think I’ve had to give myself boundaries like, “I’m not on it on the weekends,” or I delete it off my phone for a certain amount of time. It’s such a weird phenomenon of our time. You can’t ask an aunt, “So what did you do?” So I’m always curious about how your relationship has changed in having a platform and how you’ve been able to balance it.
Leah: I think one of the things is having different spaces. One is a personal Instagram that exists out there, Green Girl Leah. So it’s my blog, and I’m telling people, “This is just my personal blog.” It’s not purely for education. Sometimes it’s just me living life. And then I created a completely separate platform, a nonprofit, that is specific to education day in and day out with a team of like ten people. I think I was listening to a talk by Adrienne Maree Brown where she was saying that it’s so important to define the intention of space so you and everybody else understands.
So I’ve been doing that for my social-media platform. Like, my nonprofit is for education: “This is our mission. This is what we talk about.” My personal platform is not for continuous education. I can opt into that if I want to; I can opt out. I’m going to turn off the “Like” counter on my photos and things like that because I just don’t want to see it. I don’t care. I feel like it’s not healthy for me. I’ve just been trying to create more boundaries and also sharing a bit less. I used to be very reactive on my personal Instagram page. Like, if I would fly, people would get mad and send me DMs like, “How can you be an environmentalist if you fly?” Or “I saw you said you ate eggs one day.” There are so many comments. Honestly, I just don’t look anymore. Or if I see it, I delete it. And I feel like that’s helped me a lot.
Lindsay: How do you deal with that policing though? I think that people expect you, when you have a platform, that if you say you’re this, then you do all of these things. How have you figured out what is right for you? Whether that be in what you eat or what you consume or how you travel, how have you been able to figure that out for yourself?
Leah: I think people are also especially really hard on people of color in the environmental space because there are a lot of, like, white sustainable influencers, and they are literally doing clothing hauls every day. Like, yes, the clothing is sustainable and they’re getting it for free —
Lindsay: But it’s not sustainable to do a clothing haul every day.
Leah: That’s what I’m saying. I’m like, “You all are not critiquing their outfits of the day,” like all those sorts of things. Or even celebrities who I like, they’re granted that duality. Like Leonardo DiCaprio — shout-out to him; he’s done a lot of great environmental work. But people are more willing with celebrities to say, “We can hold these two things.” And maybe it’s because they’re wealthy at the same time. They do great things for the environment, but it’s fine if they fly on a private jet or they do some of these things. But when it comes to smaller content creators, I think it’s blurred in some ways because we’re not famous; we’re just bloggers. So maybe people are like, “Well, I want you to represent me.” So they’re kind of projecting certain things onto us.
But long story short, I feel like there is accountability at times, and I try to search for it. So if I’m getting a ton of comments that are saying, “Hey, this partnership didn’t sit well with me — can you explain this?” Or “You’re flying a lot. Can you talk to me about how you do this?” Sometimes I think about it. I might say, “I’m not promoting things like air travel or anything like that. But seeing more of the world is how I feel like I’m able to connect better with nature and experience self-care.” I try to hold space for valid accountability. But then also just know that I can’t please everyone and sometimes people are projecting.
It’s because of a lack of representation. Oftentimes, people place their expectations on a collective of a few people, and I want to be able to represent as many people as possible. But I know that’s impossible, and that’s why I think the intersectional environmental movement is growing. And if people want someone who can live in a tiny home, live out of a Mason jar, it’s not me, but I know some people they can follow.
Lindsay: I love that. What do you hope to see social media’s role in climate justice really become? Because I think we’ve talked about your personal experiences with social media and navigating that. But I think as a whole, social media is such a powerful tool. What would you want to see from different creators and any movements or anything to push the idea that climate justice should be something that people are talking about more?
Leah: One thing that’s kind of random before I add to that is that on Pinterest yesterday, I know they just released a climate-misinformation policy, which I thought was cool. And I think that other social-media platforms should have similar things. So if people are spreading conspiracy theories or climate misinformation or even information about social injustice that is incorrect —
Lindsay: I’m sure there’s a ton on Facebook.
Leah: There’s so much. There are so many diagrams with things like, “The Earth is okay.” And I’m like, “This is not okay. We’re not all good.” I do want to see social-media platforms start to understand that so many people, whether they intended for it or not, are coming to social media for education. And I believe that, ultimately, this is a good thing. But without some sort of fact-checking things in place, it can be harmful. I think seeing and understanding the validity that a lot of people are just not reading these long research papers about climate change because they aren’t accessible. If content creators or academic institutions or news sources could summarize that for the everyday person and meet them where they’re at, I think the possibilities of utilizing social media for education are endless.
I’m excited to see the way that this develops. I think, during the summer of 2020 especially, people kind of called it this infographic explosion because there was just so much need for knowledge. So I’m excited to see what happens. Even seeing educators use some of my nonprofit’s Instagram posts in their classrooms to relate to their students, that makes me so happy. But the platforms themselves must fact-check what they’re posting because it’s so easy to post incorrect information online.
Lindsay: I think that’s an amazing idea. That would be helpful in so many ways. Because I can’t tell you how many times I’m talking to someone, I’m like, “Where did you find that? Send me the link.”
Leah: “Who sent that?” Yeah.
Lindsay: So earlier in our conversation, you were saying you worked for Patagonia, and you’ve done a lot of jobs. What gave you the confidence to leave Patagonia in favor of starting your own organization? Especially as a woman of color, I don’t think people understand how hard it is to leave a situation that people publicly may think is very wonderful or one thing and the other. And so I wanted to discuss how you felt about that and making that decision for yourself.
Leah: Looking back, it was one of the most difficult and then also kind of easiest decisions I’ve made. At the time, I was working at the sustainable-manufacturing utopia that so many people look up to, and I had a great experience, especially because I got to work with some of the Patagonia OGs. I was an assistant, so I got to like work with the founders like best friends and nephews, so I learned so much from them. But then I think it was really important for me to be in my dream space as one of the only Black women and realize that while this is a dream space for many, I want to create the dream space for me and other people who look like me.
I remember people saying, “Well, what about health care?” “What about your laptop, your company laptop?” Like, “What about all these sorts of things?” And I was like, “What about my dignity?” I’m not going to feel okay, and I love Patagonia, but I will not feel okay if my work is not directly tied to the liberation of Black folks in the context of environmentalism. And they might be getting there at some point, and I could help in that area. But I would rather just create a safe space for myself and so many other people.
So everybody was unemployed at the time, and I was, too. So I just said, “I’m just going to try this out, see how it goes, and try to build something with my friends,” and I’m so glad that I did. But when there’s something in your heart that’s telling you to do something, whether it’s intuition — I don’t know what it is — but it was saying something like, “Jump, it’s time, it’s time, it’s time.” I try to listen to whatever that intuition is, and I did, and I’m really glad that I did. It’s really scary, especially from the public pressure of so many people who didn’t get it, but I got it. And that’s all that matters.
Lindsay: Absolutely. So tell us about the intersectional environment resource hub. How do you get people involved, where your head was at as far as the goals — because there are a million different ways to go about trying to make change happen — and what motivated you to do it in this way?
Leah: I think that education is often the first step to taking action. And that’s why I’m always encouraging people to educate themselves, because we want informed action. Sometimes we see types of allyship that are not informed and could be hurtful. So during the summer of 2020, when I started speaking about the Black Lives Matter movement and climate justice and intersectional theory, I started getting thousands of people to my blog saying, “Where are the resources? Where are the resources? Where are the resources?” Early on, I wanted to create that sort of separation and those boundaries of creating a separate space that was also a collective to show people it’s not just me — there are hundreds, thousands of people who are doing this work throughout history. But let’s point you to those people, those organizations, what you should be reading to kind of start your journey.
So it started off super-grassroots with me and four other environmentalists that were just compiling resources because we had this momentum of going kind of viral online talking about intersectional environmentalism. And we wanted to just get people where they needed to be so they could start their journey because we wanted to show them that it’s so important to include diversity, equity, and inclusion to environmentalism. And it did feel like the stakes were superhigh because we’re amid the racial awakening for people of color.
So we had this moment like, “When again in history will hundreds and thousands of people suddenly be like, I want to learn about the intersections of climate and culture and identity and environmentalism?” We wanted to meet the demand. And we wanted to do it in an accessible way that wasn’t rooted in the shame of like, “You don’t know this; you’re a bad person,” but just making it as accessible as possible. That’s why we started that way. We just really believe in accessible environmental information that also incorporates environmental justice and diversity.
Lindsay: I mean, I think the pandemic has changed everyone. Did that change the way that you guys work? Has that shifted anything as far as your goals for the resource hub and things that you want to do?
Leah: Yeah. I think something that we didn’t anticipate was a lot of consulting and advising.
Lindsay: And would you say, when you are doing a lot of consulting for these businesses, I think a lot of times, in my experience with Black and fashion counsel, when I’m talking to a company about the ways that they can be more invested in inclusivity and diversity — to me, it’s very simple. And often it feels like they view it as like, We have to change everything, and how are we going to get over all these hurdles? How do you feel the conversations are with brands that you’re consulting with and letting them know that it doesn’t have to be that hard? These are things that everybody should do. This is the baseline of where we should be at.
Leah: It is really interesting. I think people are afraid of being imperfect. A lot of it has to do with communications internally and externally. They just don’t know how to talk about diversity and equity. And then also, if you combine that with sustainability, they’re just like, “We don’t want to get it wrong because the stakes feel so high.” But I think we try to remind them that it’s about accountability. So that’s why we designed our corporate-accountability program, because so many people were coming to us to get certified or something like that because they’re familiar with fair-trade certification and B Corporation. So they wanted some sort of like stamp of approval.
Lindsay: I agree. I’m curious as you’re consulting with a lot of these businesses, what do you feel like as a consumer outside of that? I feel like anytime I get on social media, there’s some new brand that’s trying to sell me something that they care about equity so much, they care about the planet so much. I think as a consumer, it can just be a bit confusing because it feels like we’re just being sold so much nowadays. I’m curious, as a consumer and someone who talks to a lot of businesses, how do you decide that you want to try this brand or support this?
Leah: I think things are going to get a lot harder to suss out, like you said, because sustainability is on its way in, and ethical manufacturing is becoming the norm. It might take some time. There are a lot of fast-fashion brands.
Lindsay: I see a Shein haul every day on TikTok.
Leah: Every day. But at least the awareness for sustainable manufacturing is coming into the conversation, which is exciting. But it is hard to decipher. Honestly, I blame the corporations more than I do the consumer. I want the consumer to just do the absolute best that they can. Because these corporations could completely change their supply chains if they wanted to and make it easier for all of us. But yeah, it is hard to decipher.
I think looking at a company’s impact report if they offer one. Or if they say, “For every shoe you buy, we’re going to plant a tree.” Where are these trees? Are they being planted in a rain forest where there are already trees? Are they being planted in Detroit? So getting into the nitty-gritty of what these programs are doing and who are they helping. Where’s this recycled polyester coming from? So doing a deeper dive will usually tell you, because if a company has good things to say, they will say it. And if they don’t, they won’t say it.
Lindsay: Let’s talk about your book and your book tour. What was writing the book like? What motivated you to feel like you needed to publish something on your own?
Leah: Selfishly, I think it’s the book that I wanted when I was a young environmental-science student going into my studies because I feel like it took me years to kind of piece some of these things together that I was feeling. I didn’t know at the moment that I’m not feeling connected to my environmental studies because we’re not talking about the mother and father of environmental justice, who are Black folks, or we’re not talking enough about environmental justice. It was years later when I kind of pieced that together. I don’t want other young environmental-science students or emerging environmentalists of any age to have to go through that to say, “You know what, this is what I’ve been missing.” I just want them to have it.
Lindsay: How is the book tour? Also just seeing reactions from people reading the book and talking to you about the book and what they’ve learned?
Leah: It’s surreal. It’s cool. It was an indie best seller from bookshop.org, which was a big deal for me.
Lindsay: That is a big deal.
Leah: Thank you. Support your local indie bookstores. Oh my God, the book tour has been so cool. I knew that I wanted it to be a grassroots book tour because I speak at corporations and things like that — sometimes you’re consulting. But I built a form so anyone could fill it out. And most of the people filling it out are student organizers. So I’ve just been bopping around to different colleges. And it just feels so good to see the look on their faces when they’re like, “Oh my God, this is my first event that I’ve organized.” And they get all these students together. So it’s just been so sweet. I love listening to them share their ideas and talk, and that’s the best part of it. It’s been really good.
Lindsay: Looking forward to the future things — this is a big question, but something that we’re talking about in the Cut this month specifically — what do you want to see as far as intersectional environmentalism and the fashion and beauty industry? I think it’s something that I’m constantly trying to wrap my head around. What do you want to see change if you could change something tomorrow?
Leah: I feel like there are so many directions I could take it. But honestly, refillable packaging: Let’s get on it. We’re finding really easy ways for the consumer. I think that’s something that’s going to make me excited in the beauty space because a lot of refillable-packaging people aren’t refilling. It’s just like, I want this aluminum tin because it’s cool. So I think in the beauty space especially, let’s create some innovative systems where we can capture the products or a shipping label so they can ship that waste back to you or something like that. In the fashion space: more accessible pricing because sustainable fashion — yes, it should be expensive because of the way that it’s made — but not all of it has to be that expensive. So I think seeing some more reasonable price points would be great.
Leah: Fashion for so many people is the way that they express themselves. I want that to be accessible to all people. So like if there’s a young Black girl from the Midwest like me who’s doing these hauls or getting all these clothes because, for her, that’s the easiest way for her to express herself and stand out, I want to have some nuance of not shaming her. But then also it makes me so mad at Shein because it’s like, Could you be selling a $5 T-shirt that has organic anything? Is there some sort of middle ground to allow people that freedom to find fashion and for that to be liberating and a way to express themselves but not to have this horrible impact on the planet?
Lindsay: It’s a big question, but I appreciate all of the answers because I know there are a million things that need to change. Also I was curious when you were talking about the planting of trees and a lot of nature initiatives: What do you want to see as far as nature and outdoor activities being more accessible for POC communities? And what do you want to challenge brands that want to say that they’re sustainable, want to say that they care about equity and inclusivity, do in that space?
Leah: I think something that I struggled with working in the outdoor industry, I remember they were like, “We don’t have any Black folks in our surfing ads because it’s so hard to find.” First of all, I know Ebony Beach Club and Textured Waves. I know all these people I can put you in contact with. But I want people to take it one step further. Like, why are you not seeing a lot of Black folks in these particular activities? And there are people there. But we’re talking about water in particular — like over 50 percent of African Americans don’t know how to swim, and that’s generational. There’s trauma wrapped up in segregation and the slave trade and our relationship to water, or even the wilderness and the great outdoors being scary, and not a safe space for a lot of people of color.
So I want people to take it one step further. Doing the kind of historical and cultural analysis to see why that disconnect is there, because it’s usually rooted in generational trauma. And then also funding programs that are trying to kind of reclaim the outdoors in a new way. So the Outdoor Afro, that was started by a friend of mine, or in Oregon, it’s called Tankproof, where they’re having free swimming classes in primarily Latinx in Black neighborhoods. I think corporations should start funding those sorts of initiatives that are helping people kind of reconnect to the outdoors. It’s really important. And then also funding climate-justice work.
In particular, I was looking at some data from the Solutions Project that less than 5 percent of all philanthropic funding in the environmental space goes to climate justice work that’s led by Black and brown folks. So less than 5 percent goes to the work that is about protecting people and the planet. And the rest of it goes to the big greens like WWF and PETA. They’re working with budgets of over $200 million per year in their U.S. chapters. And this disconnect is jarring. So I think that corporations can practice wealth redistribution, and these huge nonprofits that are focused on conservation should also participate in wealth redistribution.
Lindsay: All of those suggestions are amazing. I hope people listen and take notes and reach out to you immediately.
Leah: Me too.
Lindsay: That would all be wonderful if people do that. Lastly, I mean, what’s next on the agenda for you, and what are your plans? What are you excited about?
Leah: We have a new program that might be dropping soon. It’s called Earth Sessions, and it’s kind of an intimate concert series that we’re doing to partner with artists and poets and local nonprofits. So we have our pilot show in Brooklyn on April 21. We partnered with two Black-led food-justice organizations and two local musicians. So it’s kind of like people get tricked into coming to your little show, and then there’s an educational panel with the artists and the nonprofit leaders — just a cool way to connect around joy and music and art but also to learn about what’s going on in their local community.
So when people leave, at least they know two organizations that are doing the work down the street from the location will be out in Brooklyn. So I’m excited to experiment with how we can have these joyful moments through education but also talk about inequality and the solutions that we can propose to that inequality. So yeah, that’s what’s next for us.
Lindsay: That sounds like a lot of fun.