Drew Barrymore shares advice 'best friend' Cameron Diaz has been telling her since the '90s

Drew Barrymore is turning over a new leaf, thanks to advice from her best friend Cameron Diaz. The actor said Cameron Diaz had always pushed her to start "living green" and she's finally embracing it. The "Drew Barrymore Show" host had promised Diaz that she would lead a lifestyle that was more environmentally conscious and sustainable. "She's been saying this since the '90s to me," said Drew Barrymore about her "Charlie's Angels" co-star. "Once I started living that way and really committing, [I] saw the world differently and it made me put it all into practice and action," she told PEOPLE. "She always felt like that big sister, leaning into me," added Barrymore. She has now joined hands with environmentally conscious home supplies company Grove Collective and the Virgin Group to urge everyone to move beyond plastic.

Along with Virgin founder Richard Branson, Barrymore spoke about the need to move beyond plastic, highlighting how much plastic humans were consuming and how bad it was for the environment. "We have influence over some quite large companies," said Branson. "So, if you take something like Virgin Voyages, there won't be single-use plastic on it. There won't be straws that are plastic. There won't be water bottles that are plastic. There won't be shopping bags that are plastic," he said. Barrymore called it a coordinated effort to implement tangible change. "We need the micro and the macro. We need companies and people who change the world and are real game changers, as well as our own little individual efforts," she said.

"Believe it or not, only 9% of plastic made ever gets recycled, she wrote in an Instagram post. "Research shows that the average person consumes around 44lbs of plastic in their lifetime — with some consuming as much as 55lbs. That's why we've teamed up with @GroveCollaborative to move #BeyondPlastic," she added. Barrymore said Grove's mission is to create a world where people don’t have to compromise between their values and their everyday household needs, before adding that the plastic-neutral company was aiming to be plastic-free by 2025. 

Barrymore is in love with the natural world and this was evident in a video she posted last week of herself dancing in the rain, "Whenever you can go out into the rain, do not miss the opportunity!" she said, beaming from ear to ear as she looked up at the sky. "I'm such a hippie that when I see the rain, I just think I want to go out in it and have a little baptism from Mother Nature and be free and not worried for a second," she said, before adding that rain was, to her, a signal to let go.

People just couldn't get enough of Barrymore's infectious energy, especially considering her struggles with drug addiction at a very young age. She made her mark in Hollywood as a child actor with stellar performances in films such as "E.T." and "Firestarter." She was blacklisted in Hollywood at the age of 12 due to her marijuana and cocaine habits. Her mother institutionalized Barrymore at 13 and she emancipated herself from her mother at age 14. Barrymore's journey since has been inspiring. She has since repaired her relationship with her mother, given up alcohol and emerged from substance abuse as well. She now has two children, her own successful production company, a cruelty-free makeup line and her own talk show, among many other things.