For Amy Green, bringing people together is more than a talent. It is a strategy for change.
That philosophy was on full display during New York City’s Climate Week, when Green hosted the third annual Footprint of Life Gala, an intimate gathering of leaders from philanthropy, sport, business, entertainment, fashion and conservation. Rather than another large-scale charity event built around tickets and a packed ballroom, Green deliberately created something smaller and more personal: an invitation-only dinner designed to encourage conversation, connection, and collaboration.
“I wanted to bridge Fashion Week and Climate Week, bringing together leaders in fashion and sustainability to demonstrate that true luxury can coexist with environmental responsibility, compassion, and a commitment to protecting our planet and its wildlife,” she says.
Held in collaboration with Laureus Sport for Good, Sally Ranney and Global Choices, and Planet Reimagined, the evening brought together an unusually broad mix of voices. Among the guests were renowned marine biologist and ocean conservationist Dr. Sylvia Alice Earle, former New York Mayor Eric Adams, Laureus ambassador Kely Nascimento, NFL star JJ Watt, MLB All-Star Joey Votto, Melissa Gorga, Candace Bushnell, Noella Musunka, Dorrit Moussaieff, Veronica Berti Bocelli professional surfer Nicole McNamara, and a host of figures from business, fashion, entertainment, and philanthropy.
Adam Met, musician of AJR and founder of Planet Reimagined, was honored for his work connecting climate action, policy, and culture. Big-wave surfing legend Garrett McNamara was recognized for his commitment to ocean conservation and advocacy for the natural world.
For Green, however, the guest list was as important as the honorees. “I think the first part is bringing the right people together,” she says. “That’s number one. So I work really hard to bring interesting people.”
That ability to cross boundaries between different worlds has become a hallmark of Green’s work. She and her husband own sports teams, making Laureus Sport for Good a natural partner, while Planet Reimagined brought another dimension to the conversation. The Green Vision Foundation, meanwhile, remains focused on conservation, biodiversity, oceans, wildlife and the ecosystems that sustain them.
The result was, Green says, one of her favorite events she has ever hosted.
“There was a lot of laughter. There were a lot of moments. People were crying,” she recalls. “It was exactly what I envisioned.”
The evening even produced an unexpected professional opportunity when David Daxsen, a United Nations-affiliated climate and sustainability leader, offered Green a role as director for climate and environmental sustainable development for the Council of Global Change.
But Green was not finished.
During the same whirlwind week, she unveiled Giada, her new luxury fashion brand, and introduced Vegetable Cashmere®, a plant-based fiber made entirely from soybeans. The biodegradable material is designed to offer the softness and luxurious feel associated with cashmere while providing an alternative to animal-derived fibers.
For Green, the connection between the gala and fashion launch was intentional. She wanted people arriving in New York for Fashion Week and Climate Week to see that environmental responsibility and luxury need not exist in separate worlds.
“I really wanted to bring people together that are coming off of Fashion Week into Climate Week who are really into fashion and let them see that you can have luxury without harming the planet or harming animals,” she says.
Giada’s debut collection reflects that philosophy. The brand transforms in-stock materials into limited pieces, with its inaugural vests handmade in New York by women artisans. The collection combines soft-touch vegan materials and plush vegan shearling with practical details such as dedicated iPhone and lip-gloss pockets. Matching “mommy & me” styles extend the concept to children.
The Vegetable Cashmere® collection expands the idea with pieces including a cardigan, bustier, T-shirt, drawstring pants and boy shorts, available in different styles and colors. Green is particularly enthusiastic about the fabric’s practicality. She says she has washed her own piece roughly 10 times, with the garment retaining its luxurious appearance. “It is extraordinary, and you can put it in your washing machine,” she says. “You hang it up and it looks like luxurious cashmere.”
That combination of desirability and responsibility is central to Green’s larger mission. Fifteen percent of Giada’s proceeds support conservation initiatives through The Green Vision Foundation, making the brand not simply a fashion business but an extension of her environmental work.
Green also wants consumers to experience the material firsthand. While Giada currently sells online, she envisions trunk shows in places such as Aspen and London, allowing people to touch the fabric and understand the concept beyond a photograph on a screen. “I really am trying to change mindsets,” she says. “That was the most important thing to me.”
It is a fitting philosophy for someone who has built her environmental work around collaboration. Whether she is putting a professional athlete beside a conservationist, a musician beside a business leader, or a fashion consumer beside a new plant-based textile, Green is looking for the same thing: a connection that can turn an idea into action.
Even the most personal part of Giada reflects that mission. The brand is named for her daughter, who made her own debut in the collection during the New York launch. “She was so proud that it’s her brand,” Green says. “It was really special.” For Green, perhaps that is the ultimate measure of conscious luxury: creating something beautiful today while giving the next generation a reason to believe in tomorrow.
