Meet the sustainability activist who’s been named Aerie’s first Latina Real Role Model

When it comes to making environmental change, Manuela Barón, a.k.a The Girl Gone Green is at the top of her ecological and fashion game. The sustainability activist forms part of Aerie’s 2020 Real Role Models and is the first Latina to be included in their annual campaign alongside other female gamechangers. Cue the claps! Aside from using her blog and social media platforms to spread awareness, the Colombian-American artist creates incredible fashion pieces out of waste materials – think discarded magazines, plastic newspaper bags and even discarded packaging paper. That’s right!

“As a Latina, it is an honor to be the first to represent our group in this role model campaign, and to be able to really show us that we have a voice, and we have the ability to create change," she says.

Watch the video above to learn more about what being a role model means to Manuela and how you can get involved and take small steps to become an environmental changemaker.