Is Vanity Fair taking a page out of our book? Should the term “green” be used broadly to also include humanitarian work? It’s worth asking — since it’s something we do all the time here for a site that follows “green gossip” — but it’s definitely a change of course for a magazine that prided itself on its annual ‘all-about-the-environment’ issue.

Which is something I was wondering when Madonna was chosen as the cover girl for this year’s green theme. She’s just not the choice many of us would expect. To that end, I was hoping that this would be Madonna’s opportunity to truly speak out on the issue, reveal her work to reduce her impact on the planet, inspire others to take action, chat up Malawi and her efforts there. Instead, the latter is given a couple paragraphs — sans even a mention of her foundation Raising Malawi. We’re then whisked into talking about her latest album, potential movie projects and, of course, Kabbalah.

To me, this interview could have run in any other issue. Perhaps Vanity Fair is running out of ideas when it comes to finding engaging green cover gals/guys — but like others have commented, it may just be a matter of selling as many as possible — and Madonna will get that done perhaps more than others. Still, I can’t help but be disappointed.

Read the full interview with Madonna here.

Photo credit: Steven Meisel

Categories: Print.

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

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