Arts & Fashion
Behind the Earth Day 2025 poster
Artist Alexis Rockman shares the inspiration behind his iconic poster for the 55th Earth Day.
23 April 2025
This article first appeared in our Organic September 2025 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
Main image: EDO’s Aidan Charron at an INC3 plastics protest in Kenya
At EARTHDAY.ORG (EDO), we understand the power of collaboration when it comes to advocating for the good of the planet, its people and wildlife.
We are a movement that brings different groups together to share perspectives on the challenges we face – whether it’s pollution, habitat loss or the climate crisis.
As well as making our work stronger, partnerships also nurture our spirits.
We all need a sense of community to keep us going, and remind us that we’re not alone in our efforts.
The theme for Earth Day 2024 was Our Power, Our Planet, and we called for a global tripling of renewable energy generation by 2030.
We teamed up with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the USA’s most influential solar association, to shine a spotlight on clean energy solutions.
SEIA’s president, Abby Hopper, joined associate director of Global Earth Day, Aidan Charron, on 22 Minutes With… for a powerful conversation on the explosive growth of solar energy.
On Earth Day itself (22 April), we brought our own energy to the Washington Nationals Earth Day baseball game at Nats Park in Washington DC, where Hopper threw the first pitch and our very own chief creative and content officer, Tom Cosgrove, kicked things off with a booming ‘Playyyy ball!’
Nats Park is a green ballpark and the top user of solar energy in Major League Baseball (MLB); it has 4,000 solar panels on its car park roof, which supply at least 10% of all its energy requirements.
It was a dynamic day; fans got in on the action with a spirited Earth Day quiz, and we were able to host some of our brilliant volunteer interns at the game to make sure that their incredible work felt appreciated and seen.
This Earth Day wasn’t just about renewable energy; for the seventh year we carried out our signature Great Global Cleanup campaign, designed to motivate volunteers and sister organisations to pick up as much trash – nearly all of which is plastics – as possible in the month of April.
Michael Karapetian, EARTHDAY.ORG’s Great Global Cleanup coordinator, led transformative events across the USA during Earth Month 2025.
In Miami’s Little Havana, Michael partnered with Debris Free Oceans and Healthy Little Havana for a vibrant community event.
With 40 volunteers, they began their day with sidewalk yoga, shared Cuban and Latin American cuisine in the form of pastelitos and colado and ultimately removed 140 pounds of trash, mostly styrofoam, from the streets around Domino Park.
Just three days later, Michael joined The Great Raleigh Cleanup’s workforce programme, which employs people experiencing homelessness in Raleigh, North Carolina.
With EARTHDAY.ORG’s support, they doubled their hired team from five to 10 workers and together removed more than 1,000 pounds of trash, pushing the programme past 200,000 pounds of litter cleaned up to date.
On Arbor Day, Aminah Taariq-Sidibe, EARTHDAY.ORG’s End Plastics campaign manager, joined Detroit Hives to transform a vacant lot into a pollinator haven.
Volunteers planted more than 40 native species, removed more than 60 pounds of concrete and cleared plastic waste, supporting Detroit’s status as a Bee City USA.
The project highlighted both the power of urban greening and the need for plastic-free gardening alternatives.
These cleanups prove that when communities come together, the impact is both tangible and powerful. It inspires local people to feel more invested in their own backyard, but it also makes us feel better.
Neuroscience reveals that nature is good for the soul and essential for the brain.
From reducing cortisol levels and restoring attention to boosting memory, time spent in green spaces measurably enhances cognitive function and wellbeing.
These newly cleaned-up and beautified spaces spread this important health advantage to more people, quickly and efficiently.
Our Earth Day influence spans far beyond the USA; one of our largest and busiest offices is in India, and we are especially proud of the tireless work of the Canopy Tree Project in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans.
Led by Karuna Singh – EDO’s regional director in Asia – and her incredible team, this project is restoring vitally important mangrove ecosystems in one of the world’s most vulnerable coastal regions.
The Sundarbans is a riverine estuary, a UN World Heritage site and a haven for diverse flora and fauna, but it is endangered by a rising sea level and cyclones that threaten the lives of the Indigenous population and biodiversity that call these beautiful islands their home.
The Indian part of Sundarbans ecosystem comprises 102 islands; 54 of which are inhabited and the other 48 forested.
The mangrove trees that Earth Day plants, native species like Avicennia alba and Sonneratia apetala, protect the land against storm damage, provide food, support biodiversity, create jobs and sequester carbon up to 10 times more effectively than terrestrial forests.
Their submerged root system also provides a perfect haven from predators for juvenile fish.
Partnering with local government, scientists, volunteers and village councils is in our DNA.
Globally we work closely with mayors and local leaders to drive the systemic change that’s required to address the climate crisis close to home.
On Earth Action Day 2025, public officials joined local events – across the USA and beyond – to support community-led solutions.
In July our campaign manager, Evan Raskin, went to City Hall to advocate for environmental funding and Aminah and Aidan were up on Capitol Hill to advocate for anti-plastic legislation.
In Europe our team met with officials at the Vatican and government teams from across the European Union, while in South America we collaborated and worked with leadership from Brazil, Peru, Chile and more.
100 million new jobs will be created in the green economy by 2030.
As part of EARTHDAY.ORG’s global push to make climate education a core priority of every student’s learning journey, we partnered with business leaders in November 2024 to spotlight the urgent need for green skills in today’s global workforce.
LinkedIn backed our work and major companies including UPS, Microsoft and AXA Insurance have pledged their support for building these essential climate education skills.
This highlights our shared belief that climate literacy is not just environmental: it’s economic, essential and urgent.
In 2025, EARTHDAY.ORG’s climate education team partnered with the National Education Association to distribute Earth Month Calendar, providing K–12 educators with climate-focused teaching resources.
At the National Science Teaching Association Conference, our education team connected to thousands of educators, led by Byce Coon, director of education, Emily Walker, senior co-ordinator of education and Dennis Nolasco, education coordinator.
They led a session on using non-fiction to teach climate topics and made an army of new friends in the process.
The team also took action in classrooms. In Prince George’s County, Maryland EDO participated in the Student Environmental Alliance Summit at Bowie State University, organised a cleanup at Neabsco Elementary School and led climate lessons at Buffalo Trail Elementary School.
Many notable celebrities have used their leverage and influence to help us grow our reach; their partnership has been appreciated and valued.
This year legendary Star Trek actor William Shatner used his iconic voice to advocate for the last two captive orcas in France, Wikie and her son Keijo, by urging President Macron to step in and help them.
Ringo Starr released an Octopus’s Garden special edition Earth Day T-shirt, made from organic cotton, to support ocean protection and plastic reduction.
It pretty much sold out immediately, but you can find plenty of other planet-friendly options in our Earth Day Store.
In July 2024, actress Amanda Seyfried took action after discovering plastic toxins in her dog’s system; in August, she teamed up with Southern Charm star Craig Conover and our Great Global Cleanup team to help remove 80 pounds of trash from Charleston Beach.
Amanda also supported tree-planting efforts through her eco-friendly toy company, Make It Cute.
Zac Efron helped to launch Earth Day’s 50th anniversary in 2020, spotlighting action globally by hosting a special one-off Discovery Channel show, The Great Global Cleanup, and leading a cleanup in his own hometown.
Each of these stars used their platform to make a difference and support the Earth Day movement.
Across the world, EARTHDAY.ORG’s partnerships fuel the movement for climate action.
Whether through cleanups, legislation, education or celebration, we believe change happens when people come together – and this matters because together, we are unstoppable.
Artist Alexis Rockman shares the inspiration behind his iconic poster for the 55th Earth Day.
Tom Cosgrove, chief creative & content officer at EARTHDAY.ORG, reflects on a 55-year legacy of environmental action.
Landmark date reveals the moment humanity can no longer properly manage its annual plastic waste.
Bryce Coon, director of education at EARTHDAY.ORG, explains how a new form of literacy is helping to empower the next generation.
