Trending on YouTube: Sustainable Fashion, Living and Clean Beauty

In celebration of Earth Day, we’re spotlighting some of the many creators who help the planet shine a little brighter every day. Here are six who are leading the trends around sustainable fashion, living and clean beauty today.

Sustainable Fashion

Many people are beginning to take a closer look at what they’re wearing these days - not just to make sure that their look is on trend but to examine its potential impact on the environment. Sustainable fashion haul videos have increased by over 1,300% this year!

As shoppers are looking to fill their closets in different ways, they’re turning to YouTubers to help figure out how.

Justine Leconte is a French fashion designer who’s become a leading voice in the growing trend of sustainable fashion. Her channel gives viewers tips on how to shop for sustainable fashion and how to build a sustainable wardrobe on a budget. Justine has over 500,000 subscribers, 40% of whom subscribed just last year.

Since 2018, we’ve seen a 13x view increase on sustainable haul videos, and creators are uploading these types of videos 190% more every year. In a vintage twist, UCLA film student Ashley has found an audience of more than one million subscribers with a thrifting-focused channel called Bestdressed.

Fun fact: She currently has the most-viewed “sustainable haul” video.

Sustainable Lifestyles

Sustainable culture isn’t just about looking good; it’s also about living thoughtfully in all facets of life. From minimalists to tiny homes, van living to the zero waste community, sustainable lifestyles are on the rise at YouTube. Views for videos that provide tips for living a more eco-friendly lifestyle doubled in 2018 compared to 2017.

One of the creators driving this trend is Canadian Candace Hutchings and her channel the Edgy Veg. Now with over 300K subscribers, she’s introduced to her audience a revolutionary new way to approach vegetarian and vegan cuisine, as well as shown the benefits of zero-waste living.

Fun fact: Her video with 20 tips on how to reduce waste is the most-watched video about sustainable living last year.

Meanwhile, Austin-based creator Shelby is a self-described eco-realist who uses her channel Shelbizleee to showcase “zero-waste swaps.” She gives helpful everyday tips on how to replace our most commonly used items with sustainable options to lead a less wasteful lifestyle.

And other channels on YouTube (#Vanlife and #TinyHome) go even bigger than daily zero-waste tips to a complete overhaul of how we think about our homes.

Over 400K subscribers follow the adventures of Jinti Fell as the Australian family travels across the world in a van. The channel exemplifies the tiny home/van life ethos, a movement dedicated to reducing one’s footprint economically and materially to the bare minimum one needs to live.

Clean Beauty

Beauty creators and viewers are also looking to cleaner and healthier alternatives for their go-to beauty products. There's a lot to unpack given there's no global standard: the EU has banned 1,328 chemicals from cosmetics, but in the U.S., it’s only 11. Still, last October we saw a 7x increase in monthly views of videos with Clean Beauty in the title.

One creator in this space to watch is Allana Davison, a beauty and lifestyle vlogger with over half a million subscribers. She’s dedicated videos on how to do a full face using purely 100% clean beauty products.

Allana and all the other YouTubers forging ahead in sustainability have not only found a way to minimize their own environmental impact, but they've also inspired others to do the same. Mother and entrepreneur Krystn Keller was already a fan of clean beauty when grappling with how to help her son Elliot, who suffered from severe eczema over his entire body. His skin condition was debilitating to the point where he missed developmental milestones. Determined to find a solution, she began watching soap-making tutorials on YouTube (i.e. The Soap Queen) and learned how to make her own soap. After several months of trial and error, she found the perfect formula that not only helped her son, but also inspired her to create her own business, Keller Works. She now sells clean soap products in stores across her home state of Alabama and online.

Whether it’s a tiny swap or a big life change, we can look to YouTubers across the world to motivate us, teach us, and guide us on our way to a more sustainable life.