Going Grenier Green

When you think of Adrien Grenier you probably think drop-dead-gorgeous actor. But there's a lot more to the Entourage star than a pretty face. Peel away those surface layers and you'll find Adrien Grenier is a green-living activist.

The 32-year-old actor, documentary filmmaker and musician is the host of Planet Green's Alter Eco, a 13-part series that shows viewers how easy it is to live green. Grenier developed the idea for the show with producing partner Peter Glatzer back in 2007 and the show went into production in 2008. Episodes take viewers to the Coachella Concert, an eco-friendly winery and a massive reno of Grenier's 1920s Spanish-style home in Los Feliz.

Respect for the environment filters into almost all aspects of Grenier's life. He drives a Prius. His Brooklyn home is solar powered and the walls are insulated with recycled jeans. He's even been spotted holding up postcard-sized signs reading "Green is Gold" and "Invest in the Green Standard," silently parlaying his celebrity into a vehicle for the green movement. It's not exactly the first case of a celebrity touting green living, but it's a novel approach. There's no denying the power of a picture.

The Alter Eco host has also thrown his support behind all sorts of environmental initiatives, including Charity: Water, an organization that works to bring clean drinking water to areas in need, and Heifer International, a group that focuses on sustainable, environmentally-friendly communities by providing livestock and training to help ease hunger and poverty. Though not strictly green, Grenier also does a lot of work with food programs, including City Harvest (delivering food in hybrid trucks, no less), and the New York City Food Bank.

The effort hasn't gone unnoticed. In 2008 Grenier received the Vail Film Festival's first-ever Blue Sky Tribute, awarded for environmental activism. Grenier was chosen for his "deep commitment to environmental activism, and for his advocation of small daily changes to create an impact in the world," according to a press release.

So what has 2009 looked like for Entourage star? Grenier teamed up with Kiehl in advance of Earth Day to put his name and some sexy art on the company's fair-trade, eco-friendly body lotion. He's since moved on to a new project with Texas-based Big in Japan to develop an iPhone app called ecohero that will help consumers judge the environmental and health impact of products, reported Forbes. The app will work on the same platform as Big in Japan's ShopSavvy app, which relies on barcode-scanning technology. Basically customers will snap a picture of the barcode with their camera phone and then the app will tell them how green (or non-green) the product is.

And while he was in Australia promoting Alter Eco, Grenier told one reporter he has a soft spot for the land down under. "I have a penchant for Australia. It's noticeably more green than other places I've been. It's about having a real appreciation for nature," Grenier told the Melbourne Herald Sun during a May 2008 visit to promote Alter Eco. "Every time I'm here, I just want to move here—and I might! I might find myself a nice Australian wife."