8 Must-Watch Environmental Documentaries on Amazon Prime

Climate change, deforestation and loss of biodiversity are some of the biggest stories of our time. Each of us has the power to change the environment we are in. Similar to this blog post, we have curated 8 must-watch environmental documentaries on Amazon Prime that you could watch and learn from. As a bonus these documentaries are free to watch if you are subscribed to Amazon Prime! We hope that the power of storytelling on film can bring us closer to nature and inspire us to protect it!

The True Cost

This is a documentary film exploring the impact of fast fashion on people and the environment. While we buy too many clothes due to the decreasing price of clothing, the environmental costs have grown dramatically and the working conditions for those who produce them have gotten worse. As the story unfolds, it really asks us to consider who really pays the “true” cost of our clothes.

Ocean warriors

This 6-episode documentary film tells the stories of a group of activists, scientists and journalists as they risk their lives to track down poachers and illegal fishing from the Antarctic's remote Southern Ocean to the coral reefs of Tanzania for the sake of protecting the oceans and marine life.  It is a fast-paced adrenaline-fueled documentary film which shows a group of courageous people that bring outlaws to justice.

Stracci

Prato in Italy has a long tradition of recycling woolen clothes and regeneration of new fiber. It is a place where the technology of recycling is observed and learned by others. The film shows the recycling journey that starts from Prato and goes around the world to describe the environmental impact of the fashion industry. While the enormous textile waste causes huge environmental problems, it presents opportunities for reusing and recycling in many countries.

Alex James : Slowing Down Fast Fashion

We now live in a world where the “throwaway clothing” phenomenon is common as we buy more cheap clothes than ever before.  This documentary presents a critical look at the fashion industry and its enormous human and environmental cost. It explores creative alternatives on how we can slow down fast fashion and what we can do to influence the industry to change as well.

Burning

Academy & Emmy-award winning Australian filmmaker Eva Orner seeks to urgently alert us about climate change through the unprecedented, catastrophic Australian bushfires of 2019 to 2020 also known as “black summer”. The documentary is an exploration of what happened and provides a clear view on the consequences of inaction toward climate change from the perspective of victims of the fires, activists, and scientists.

The Positive Alternative

Climate change has fundamentally impacted and changed the lives of four Australian farmers. The documentary shows the stories told by these farmers as they deal with the crisis and create a positive alternative. Each episode covers one crucial topic within the food industry: sustainable diets, food waste reduction, sustainable production, and low emission meat. It aims to make this a shared struggle that we can participate in to fix these issues if we work together.

Carbon Nation

Rather than lamenting about the climate crisis, this documentary aims to find varied solutions and describe the discoveries and innovations made by people in order to prevent and slow down climate change.  It features interesting projects that if implemented on a large scale, could help tackle climate change and boost the economy, increase national and energy security, and promote health and a clean environment.

The Magnitude of All Things

This documentary centers around Jennifer Abbott’s cinematic journey as it draws intimate parallels between the experiences of grief due to the death of her sister as well as grief from the climate breakdown. The film takes us around the world to witness a planet in crisis. It explores the relationship between grief and hope in times of personal and planetary change.

Let us know which movies you end up watching in the comments below!