Celebrity endorsements play an important role when it comes to selling a product. A lot of mainstream or A-list celebrities are known to the majority of the world’s population. Let's take Beyonce for instance who is taking over the world by storm. It catches viewers’ attention when they see Queen Bey in the Pepsi commercial or their print ad. Or Shah Rukh Khan or Ranbir Kapoor for the Indian customers. The stars’ fame and success stories are an inspiration to majority of their fans.

But how far are celebrity endorsements effective in promoting environmental conservation? I am a huge fan of Leonardo Di Caprio movies and even bigger fan of his contribution towards protecting our environment. He is one of the most outspoken celebrity advocates for Climate Change Awareness. In 2016, the same year he denounced Climate Change deniers in his now infamous Academy Award acceptance speech– he partnered with National Geographic to produce Before The Flood, an incisive documentary that addresses the “calculated disinformation campaign orchestrated by powerful special interests working to confuse the public about the urgency of the growing climate crisis.” In addition to his work as a public advocate, the actor founded the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998, with the goal of “support[ing] projects around the world that build climate resiliency, protect vulnerable wildlife, and restore balance to threatened ecosystems and communities.”

We also have the beloved Meryl Streep whose move towards activism began in the 80’s when the 17-time Academy Award nominated actress began advocating for the Natural Resource Defense Council to raise awareness for environmental issues. And Alec Baldwin established what is now known as the Hilaria & Alec Baldwin Foundation in 2006, focusing on grantmaking in New York City and Long Island. Chief among the range of topics that grants can go towards are environmental agencies like the Central Park Conservancy and wellness initiatives like Bent on Learning, a nonprofit that teaches yoga in New York City public schools.

In India, we have Aamir Khan's Paani Foundation to fight rural droughts all over the country. We have the Bachchans creating awareness for climate change (and getting awards for it too). Actress Dia Mirza along with many other celebrities took part in a beach clean-up initiative which was done to spread awareness on plastic pollution and how it is affecting the planet.  

So how do we know if these endorsements are impactful? This can be judged by the celebrities' authenticity towards their cause. If  celebrities who are standing behind causes actually know what they are supporting and have a passion to help, people will surely be influenced and might as well contribute to the cause by making environment-friendly changes in their lifestyle

Living in 2018, the millennial generation has a filter and a way of discerning whether something is authentic and real. The earlier generations spoon-fed information that wasn’t true and many times believed it. But times have changed and people have become smarter and more aware, thanks to the internet.

It's hard to quantify when it comes to celebrity endorsing them. The good thing about it is that people do get influenced by their favourite celebrities. We do have to keep in mind that the influence should be positive and not negative.