Be Good to Bees
Why we love bees.
Bees have always held a special place in our hearts. After all, Burt himself was a beekeeper, and the very first Burt’s Bees products were made with beeswax from his hives. Even today, our Beeswax Lip Balm graces millions of lips around the world.
But more than that, we respect bees for all the ways they inspire us to live. Bees are stewards of life – they remind of us of the interconnectedness of nature, and our place in it. They remind us to build beautiful, sustainable communities, buzzing with collaborative and purposeful activity. They feed on flowers, dance, fly at a buzzing pace, and make nutritious and sweet food. They strike a good balance and we could all do well to follow in their beelines.
That’s why all Burt’s Bees employees can receive a stipend to try their hand at beekeeping, following in Burt’s footsteps.
Every third bite.
“To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee, And revery.” Emily Dickinson.
Picture a world without blueberries. Or strawberries. Or peaches. That would be a world without honeybees. Bees pollinate roughly one third of the nutritious fruits and vegetable we love to eat. Worldwide, nearly 1,000 plants need pollinators like the bee in order to produce the food, fibers, spices and medicines people need to survive. And thrive. Here are just a few examples: apples, blueberries, chocolate, coffee, melons, peaches, potatoes, pumpkins, and vanilla. They are essentially responsible for what amounts to a $40 billion economy in the United States every year.
So much of our agricultural productivity is dependent on the European honeybee (Apris melifera). When the honeybee suffers, many of our most delicious and health-giving fruits and vegetables that depend on it, are in peril. Recent honeybee declines from Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) starting in 2006 have captured the world’s attention. To date, CCD has been defined as a series of symptoms, but the cause and the cure have remained complex and elusive. CCD is not the only problem facing honey bees; in fact, in 2010 the overwintering losses were at the same unsustainable rates of over 30% but the cause seemed to be less from CCD than from other problems related to parasites, disease, habitat, nutrition and exposure to chemicals.
The bottom line? The bees need us.
The Pollinator Partnership is on their side.
Clearly, people and plants need pollinators in a big way. 
The Pollinator Partnership is taking steps to protect bees and other pollinators through education, outreach, conservation and research—and Burt’s Bees is proud to be part of their efforts. In 2007, we helped initiate the Honeybee Health Task Force, which supports research to help improve the heath of honeybees –-from bee genetics to nutrition. We continue to support this initiative along with others that focus on the ongoing education of beekeepers and farmers.
Learn how your school, park or backyard garden can thrive with pollinators.
Dr. Mark Moffett of the Pollinator Partnership appears on The Colbert Report to explain how pollinators do the deed.
A brighter bee future, one charm at a time.
Every charm tells a story. And we want every bee story to have a happy ending. Now renowned jewelry designer, Helen Ficalora, is celebrating our beloved bee with a stunning sterling silver bee charm necklace created exclusively for Burt's Bees and the Pollinator Partnership. Wear it to show your appreciation for all the important things bees do for us—including the pollination of the fruits and vegetables we eat every day. A happy, healthy, abundant future depends on it.
Simply donate $150 or more to the Pollinator Partnership by 9/30/11, and 
you’ll receive the Helen Ficalora limited-edition charm necklace and a Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Blossom. In addition, a Bee Smart School Garden Kit will be donated to help a school selected by the Pollinator Partnership to grow a bee-friendly garden as a living classroom—a hands-on way for kids to learn the importance of bees in our ecosystem and spread the buzz.
So be a honey, and help the bees!
Vanishing of the Bees
Filmed across the U.S., Europe, Australia and Asia, this fascinating documentary, narrated by Ellen Page, explores the mysterious disappearance of honeybee colonies around the world.
Let’s hear it from Burt!
Burt took his love for bees to the masses in 2007 with this public service announcement.
