The Buzz from the Bees

I'm admittedly a little late with this but here is a fascinating article from the International Herald Tribune by writer Louise Story about the juicy history of Burt's Bees, Burt's love affair with Roxanne Quimby and his chicken coop; the acquisition by corporate giant Clorox (in November last year) and the future of this gem of a skin care product.

I recently tried Burt's Bees chap stick this summer and found the tingly goodness worth the +$5.00 I paid. There's one line in the article, though, that has me tingling in a different way, and it can be found on page 3.

Burt's Bees is not perfect, Replogle acknowledges. The company obtains all of its beeswax from hives in Ethiopia, so shipping the ingredient across the Atlantic adds to carbon emissions.

What I know about human exploitation of resources in Ethiopia (i.e. COFFEE) by large corporations isn't pretty. I'm going to do some digging and perhaps this little bear will come out of the internets with some honey on her hands.