Jennie Garth Talks Her '90s Environmentalism Journey and Love for Oat Milk (Exclusive)

With Daylight Savings around the corner, a cup of coffee may be the only de-zombifiying remedy. Because Beverly Hills, 90210 legend and environmentalism advocate Jennie Garth also loves a good alternative milk, she's partnered with Planet Oat to promote its Daylight Savings-themed popups across major U.S. cities, including New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

With a goal to help sleepy city dwellers feel bright and energized on the morning of Monday, March 11, 2024, the plant-based milk brand's “Better Reset with Planet Oat” popup coffee carts will provide free java, overnight oats, and blueberry muffins complete with oat milk.

Actor, author, podcast host, and activist Jennie Garth — who's also known for roles in hit shows like 90210 and What I Like About You — is spreading the word to help people reset their own clocks and give the calcium-rich goodness of plant-based milk a try.

In an exclusive interview with Green Matters, Jennie Garth discussed how eco-friendly living expert and author Danny Seo jumpstarted her personal environmentalism journey, her mother's impact on her own green thumb, and searching for sustainable solutions for her budding merch line. Read on for Jennie Garth’s exclusive Green Routine!

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.

GREEN MATTERS: What inspired your collaboration with Planet Oat?

JENNIE GARTH: I'm a plant-based believer. It's a perfect marriage for me and Planet Oat to talk about all the health benefits of alternative milk. And Daylight Savings is hard on people. Monday morning, going to work is pretty crushing. So I think it's really cool that Planet Oat is doing these popups in major cities and offering free coffee with Planet Oat plant-based milk. A lot of people are like, "Ugh, that stuff doesn't taste good. I want the real thing." But if they give it a try, I think they'll say, "Wow, this is pretty good. I can't even tell a difference."

GM: As a busy working mom of three, tell us what the arrival of Daylight Savings typically looks like for you. How can Planet Oat’s products make the morning of March 11th a little easier?

JG: My house is going to get that smoothie that I make every morning a little bit earlier. That'll initiate the kickoff. It's a lot of spinach, frozen banana, frozen mango, and frozen oranges. Then I put in a whole lemon with the skin on it. The rind is so good for you and it's such a waste to throw it in the trash. And when you make a smoothie, you can't really tell it's in there! It gives it a little texture, which I actually like. Then I add a chunk of ginger with the skin on it, MCT oil, flaxseed oil, bee pollen, plant-based protein, ice, dates, and Planet Oat plant-based milk.

But the Daylight Savings of it all, I say, "Suck it up, buttercup."

GM: We know you’re a supporter of Water4, you’ve done a PSA in partnership with the Caltrans Stormwater Program, and you frequently speak about plant-based living. Can you tell us about your personal environmentalism journey?

JG: I met Danny Seo in the '90s, who was talking about these things before anybody else was in my circle. We were throwing around the idea of doing a vegan shoe line and he really did inspire me. He's working a lot now because people are more interested in hearing about sustainability. But he was pushing hard for it in the '90s. That really opened my eyes to all the things I wasn't really thinking about. I'm a big saver of all things that come from the planet. Don't use more than one paper towel if you don't have to. Don't leave the freezer open if you don't have to. Turn off the lights when you leave the room. I save my water and use it for my plants. All the things!

GM: You have a garden too, right?

JG: We do garden and attempt to make some of our own food. When I was young, we had a huge garden. My mom probably instilled the love of growing your own food in me. We'd work as a family in that garden all the time and have huge harvests of fresh vegetables. It was just part of our lives. Going to the store was a big event because we never really needed to go to the store to feed the family. It's been in my genes since I was a little girl.

GM: How will your in-the-works 90210-inspired merch line, Me by Jennie Garth, be sustainably minded? Tell us about it!

JG: It's very important to me, as far as fashion and the development of that for the brand. I'm trying to find different ways and sort of push certain companies that I'm working with to give me options. For my brand Me by Jennie Garth, I've only come out with a little bit of merch, which is a lead in to something much bigger. I'm pushing a company that hasn't been as environmentally conscious in the past to really think along those lines of things like recycled packaging, which feels really good. We're trying to do some things with ocean plastic and recycled materials.