Isabelle (@greenluxuryguide) is a German blogger passionate about green beauty, eco travel, and sustainable fashion. She talks about these topics on her blog, Green Luxury Guide, and on her Instagram account, where she also shares her favourite sustainable products with her audience. Isabelle has recently founded a booking portal for sustainable hotels, Select Green Hotels. Her mission is to make sustainable travel easy, fun, and inspiring. We chatted with her to know more about what being a sustainable traveller means and how the idea for her new venture came to life.
How did you get into a sustainable lifestyle?
It was a slow process. My mother paved the way for me when I was little. I grew up with organic food and skincare. As a young adult, I got into the green beauty scene in New York. In that environment, you start automatically thinking about packaging and how to make it more sustainable.
I had an eye-opener moment on a trip to Vietnam. I stayed for one week on a paradise-like beach without daring to swim because the amount of plastic trash on the beach and inside the water was just insane. I understood that we can’t live or travel like this anymore if we want our oceans to survive.
Being in the travel industry, I suddenly had a lot of free time in 2020. So, during the first lockdown, I opened my blog, Green Luxury Guide, and I also started working on the concept for selectgreenhotels.com, a booking platform for sustainable hotels.
What is your goal and who is your audience?
My goal is to show my audience that a sustainable lifestyle is possible without compromising on the luxuries in life. I want to inspire people to live a greener life and to travel sustainably. With Select Green Hotels, my aim is to create the go-to platform for people who are looking for eco-friendly hotels.
What has been the biggest learning curve in your professional growth?
Founding my own business in the midst of a pandemic wasn’t without obstacles. But it turned out to be the best experience I could ask for.
What are the biggest misconceptions about what you do?
Not many, luckily. People seem to have understood that sustainable practices are important if we want to keep inhabiting this planet.
What’s a day in your life like?
No day is like the other. Since I have two brands, my booking platform Select Green Hotels and my blog, I try to split my time between these two. Between emails, social media, newsletter and blog post writing, I love when I get to try new products and when I visit our partner hotels.
Who inspires you?
I’m inspired by other female ecopreneurs – there are so many amazing women out there who do outstanding things.
Who is someone you want us to know?
My mother – she’s been living a sustainable lifestyle since the 1980s.
One sustainable product you can’t live without?
Facial oils like the ones by The Glow. I love the ones from Susanne Kaufmann or Seed to Skin too – both brands are affiliated with amazing hotels, combining the two worlds that I love.
One eco-friendly habit you wish everyone practiced?
I wish everyone would pick up plastic in nature when they see it. It’s so easy and imagine if everyone would do it!
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability means caring for people and the planet. Being fair and making conscious decisions. For me personally, this also includes finding solutions on how to improve the status quo and to heal damages to our environment.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists and contributors are their own, not those of Impakter.com. — In the Featured Photo: Isabelle urges travellers to make more environmentally conscious choices on her blog, Green Luxury Guide. Featured Photo Credit: Isabelle Winter
