Isn't every day Earth Day?

We sure think so.

Back in 1970, this historic event motivated and energized people to take action and think differently about life on the planet. Now, with almost 39 Earth Day Celebrations under our belt, we think it’s time to up the ante and think about good ol’ Mother Earth each and every day (after all, we know she’d want that).

We’ve come up with 10 easy ways that you can do to make a difference today, tomorrow, and every day. Trust us, they are really painless!

1. Recycle: We just had to start with that! But this Earth Day, we double-dare you to take a good hard look at your trash. We trust you’ll fish out some recyclables in the mix (probably from others), but also remember E-Waste like cell phones, MP3’s and laptops can all be recycled and repurposed.
2. Freecycle: The above double-dare is sure to stir up some goodies that can be useful to those around us: clothes, books, electronics, furniture, etc.
3. Reuse. Reuse. And did we mention Reuse? Products have life spans just like you and me. Leave behind paper plates, plastic forks and any other disposables. Reusable serve ware, portable mugs for that latte and a water jug for that necessary potable will lessen landfills and just make life taste better!
4. Wallet Activism: Look for products made from recycled materials, natural ingredients and minimal / biodegradable packaging. By supporting eco-friendly companies your green supports the greater green.
5. Park-It: Celebrate the beauty of spring with a walk when you could have driven. Carpool, take public transport, ride your bike. If you can’t do it every day, try once a week. When you do drive, make sure you pump up your tires so you can deflate your fill-ups.
6. Junk It: Putting the kibosh on junk mail and catalogues will save you time, save landfill space and save millions of trees (and probably make the post office happy too).
7. Bills. Bills. Bills. We won’t advise not paying ‘em, but we wholly support going paperless for your banking, bill paying and at the ATM.
8. Live Life Locally: Support your local farmers while enjoying fresh produce and organically grown goodies. You can even try going veggie once or twice a week.
9. Say Y-E-S to CFL’s: You’ll save time, money and energy…but you may have to give up on the “How many ___________’s does it take to change a light bulb?” jokes because you’ll change them so infrequently.
10. Spread the Word: Tell your friends how easy it is to shave off some carbon here, save some resources there and conserve a little energy here. And then they can tell their friends. And then they can tell their friends…
    

We’re committed to finding clean, green ways of existing on this planet. These simple steps above can help you save the world, each and every day.

Happy Earth Day to All!

Burt's Bees and RecycleBank

Entering a Spring of Hope - a message from John, CEO

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way." Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859

Few quotes more aptly capture how the world feels today. Remarkably, Dickens penned those words 150 years ago when the world was a different place and when on the verge of Civil War here in the U.S., our nation felt every bit as grim. By comparison today and even with the oftentimes overwhelming uncertainty, I believe we are entering a spring of hope rather than a winter of despair. Here at Burt’s Bees, we remain committed to making people’s lives better every day naturally. We continue to look ahead knowing we will be a stronger company because we will rise to meet the challenge, together.

First, this is an epoch of belief and the spirit of hope can lift us! My wife and I were fortunate to attend the inaugural in Washington D.C. Yes, I was lifted by the soaring rhetoric and commanding intellect of our new President, but that wasn’t why I left with such a sense of spirit. What ignited me the most was the belief in the eyes of the millions of American and global citizens. The energy, the spirit of goodwill and the conviction of our national greatness was manifest in the millions who came together to celebrate our future potential as a people, a nation and a world united.

Second, while times are admittedly tough, let us remain grateful not grim. There are few things in life that we get to choose, but every morning as we greet the new day, we make a new choice - we choose our attitude. I have a grateful heart for the blessings and gifts that have transformed not only my life but the lives of others around me. What matters most in our lives? When we scrape away the trappings of material possessions from our collective vision, what do we see? Health, love, family -- these are the makings of happiness and a rich life. Let us indulge in these riches and give thanks with a grateful heart.

My third belief is that now, more than ever, we must comfort each other and become a community! In these trying times, it is our defensive instinct to protect ourselves first by spending less and giving less. Yet, these are the times when people need each other the most. Each of us has the power to make a piece of this world a better place by sharing our love, our gifts and our blessings with our neighbors. We must continue to remind each other to fill this charge; to serve one another and to care for one another. Now is not the time to hunker down, now is the time to lift ourselves up and, in so doing, lift those around us.

Yes, our times are tough, but with a belief in hope, a grateful heart and open hands to share our gifts, we can begin to recapture our future. This, I believe, is the true spirit of the people who gathered in Washington, around our nation and around the world on Jan 20th and is what continues to drive us as a global community towards a better tomorrow.

- John

What are you grateful for?

As we celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S., we give thanks for another year, recognize our blessings and surround ourselves with our family and friends. Yet - this year Thanksgiving feels, well, needed more than ever. With all that’s going on around us in the world, maybe this year isn’t just about giving thanks but about recognizing what we’re truly grateful for.

There is an article in Yoga Journal (December 08) that focuses on cultivating gratitude. Author Jill Duman writes that those who keep gratitude journals feel more satisfied, sleep better and experience a greater sense of overall well-being in their lives. The article includes the following quote from Todd Kashdan, associate professor of psychology at Virginia’s George Mason University:

“There are two parts of being grateful. One is recognizing that someone benefited in some way, then mindfully seeing the connection to yourself. You have to really be in the present to see what’s happening in your life, what’s causing things to happen, and how you fit into things bigger than yourself.”

So let’s start our own gratitude journal and see where the journey takes us.

Why You Voted Natural is Inspiring

Why do I come to work everyday? Because of you. I know it may sound trite, but hearing what our consumers have to say about our products and our company helps spawn new ideas and gives us insight that is unique and even better, truthfully authentic. For me, being a marketer here at Burt's Bees is a great opportunity because when we're on, we know because you tell us....and when we're off our mark, you let us know that too. (Working for Burt's Bees as the trendsetter brand in Natural Personal Care is pretty cool too.)

What inspired me the most lately is what we learned from our Vote for Natural campaign. It gave us profound insight into your thoughts and feelings on Natural overall and frankly, inspired me. Those of you who voted Natural (and over 40,000 of you have!) were asked the typical entry information plus one specific question: "Why do you vote for natural? Tell us why natural matters to you."

So far, I’ve spent hours reading through your responses and am energized. Thank you! Here are a few of the responses that I particularly loved and wanted to share:

"Voting natural matters to me because with all the exposure I get to un-natural elements in my day to day life, I feel that it's best for me to make healthy and natural choices for my body and for my baby. When it comes to things I have control over like soaps, makeup and hair products, I want the best."

"When I think of the word natural, images of the beauty that surrounds us all over the world pop into my mind. The beauty of nature; trees, crystal clear water, rocks, clouds, sky, plants and wildlife. I like to think that those same images are inside of me, my body, my heart and my soul. The "natural" me is who I am and what I stand for. I was raised to absorb the beauty around us, to look, see, feel, smell, taste everything that is real. I can only hope, wish and believe that everyone will do the same in order to keep and protect this earth from which we all live."

"I have very sensitive skin. I can't use harsh chemicals on my skin. As I've gotten older, my skin has gotten more sensitive. Burt's Bees products are just the thing to make my skin feel soothed and soft. Knowing the products are all natural is a bonus. I won't have any chemicals hurting my skin or my body."

We appreciate all the great comments about why natural matters to you, and we’ll keep pouring over your comments to inspire and ignite new ideas. Thanks again to all of you who voted Natural and because of you it’s clear that Natural is the winner!

Paula Alexander
Director, US Marketing

Is Clorox changing Burt's Bees products?

No. We hear this question a fair amount lately, and we understand why. It’s tough to know what will happen to a company and its products after an acquisition. From John’s posts below, we’re looking to answer your questions about our company on an ongoing basis. Now, it’s my turn to update you on our products.

Clorox is not involved in the creation of new products, changes to existing products or discontinuation decisions on existing products. Burt’s Bees remains focused on creating the most natural, most sustainable, and most effective natural products possible. That is our mission, and Clorox respects our commitment to producing natural products that are of highest quality and effectiveness.

That being said, there are changes going on around here. With the launch of the Natural Standard for Personal Care Products in May 2008, we are comprehensively reviewing our product offering. During this review, we are challenging ourselves with 3 questions:

1. Is the product as natural as possible?
   Our goal is that every Burt’s Bees product should be 100% natural. If it isn’t 100% natural currently - then we’re looking at ways we can improve it.
   


2. Are the sources of our ingredients as sustainable as possible?
   We firmly believe that our ingredients must be derived from renewable and sustainable sources. Some of our existing products will change so that we can meet this commitment.
   
   
3. Is the product as good as, or better than, similar products available to our consumers?
   Sometimes, the answer is a heartbreaking “No.” When we realize that a product isn’t the best it can be then we ask ourselves, “Should we make it?” Sometimes, we’re finding that we shouldn’t.
   
   As tough a decision as it was - our oral care products were discontinued in 2006 because we felt they didn’t measure up. Were they good products? Yes. Were they the best natural toothpastes on the market? No. Does this mean we’re out of making natural oral care products completely? No. We’re still trying to crack it, and we’re working diligently to formulate natural toothpastes and other natural oral care products that will truly deliver against your expectations, and ours.

For our loyal consumers who love certain products, we recognize that some of these changes may be unwelcome. As you start to see the products on store shelves, please let us know what you think. Our goal is to improve, not alienate and we welcome all of your feedback. Only with productive dialogue will we continue to improve our well-loved Burt’s Bees products.

Mia Meachem
Director, Global Marketing

Announcing our first Corporate Social Responsibility Report

We’re delighted to announce Burt’s Bees first corporate social responsibility report, The Greater Good Social and Environmental Progress Report: 2008 and Before. It’s an account of where we are today on our road to truly sustainable business practices, and where we see ourselves headed in the near, and not so near future.

What an honor it is to enjoy the trust our consumers, partners, employees and other stakeholders place in our brand. We’re delighted by and thankful for the “personal relationship” you so often develop with the Burt’s Bees products you love. At the same time, we try to uphold our side of the relationship in the way we direct our operations, manage our workplace, manufacture and deliver our products and interact with our communities. This is what we believe corporate social responsibility is all about. It’s also what our report is about.

So while we've been on the job concocting earth-friendly, all-natural personal care and taking sustainability very seriously, what we've neglected to do is formalize our story in a CSR Report. Today, having finally taken this big step, we’re reflecting on the new lessons we culled along the way. A few things we learned:

1) For a candid picture of the impact a company has on society and on the environment, especially when it’s the first such effort, lots of that company’s people spend serious hours sifting through and delivering data, statistics, perspective and vision. And to paint that picture in an authentic, transparent way, those people need to be willing to hold nothing back. We think we were fortunate enough to find both and hope you’ll agree. Our thanks go to all who contributed, including our friends outside of Burt’s Bees who took time to read the report and enrich our process with their thoughtful commentaries.

2) A history of substantive data and standardized measures is the real beef of a CSR Report. As a company, we've only recently become champions of such discipline and writing this report has made its worth all the more apparent. While a shortage of hard core measures in some of our operations didn't discourage us from writing this first account, we recognize when it comes to practical metrics, consistent measures and grounded goals, more is better. And from here, we intend to go for more.

3) Most importantly, while one of our objectives for this report was to help you, our stakeholders, make informed decisions about Burt’s Bees commitment to sustainability, we discovered its added value as a guide for us and our own self assessment. The report clarifies and formalizes our road map, tells us where we are, and makes us accountable for getting where we say we want to be. To that end, you can expect regular updates on our progress towards our social and environmental goals.

Happy reading and we hope you’ll contact us with your questions and suggestions at csr@burtsbees.com

Yola Carlough
Director of Sustainability

Our Six-Month Update: Burt's Bees & Clorox

Dear Burt’s Bees Community,

It has been six months since we were acquired by The Clorox Company and, at that time, I made a pledge to report back on our progress. When Clorox bought Burt’s Bees there were generally three types of responses - neutral, wait and see, and healthy skepticism. Understandably, the voices of concern were focused on if Clorox would deter us from our mission, change our values, lessen our commitment to environmental and social responsibility, or most importantly, alter our natural products. In response, I asked for your patience and requested for you to judge us by our actions over the coming months.

Rather than diluting our commitment, the acquisition has helped bring the Burt's Bees team closer together and has further coalesced our resolve behind our mission and values. Now, more than ever - and with the full support of Clorox - we actively strive to bring forth positive change.

Here are a few of our accomplishments which I feel illustrate this best:

• Launched the Natural Standard in conjunction with other leading natural care brands and the Natural Products Association


• Hosted the first Planet Earth Day Celebration in our hometown of Raleigh attracting over 15,000 visitors and creating a rich and engaging educational experience


• Furthered our strides in environmental sustainability by cutting our energy use per unit by over 30% and cut water use by nearly 10%


• Donated over $100,000 of goods to Americares in order to provide hygiene and personal care to the world’s neediest children.


• Continued to drive awareness and research funding, through NAPPC, to understand the importance of finding a solution for Colony Collapse Disorder

During the past six months, we’ve also learned to effectively collaborate with our Clorox colleagues to assist each other on this journey. Clorox continued to move forward with their environmental commitment and joined the EPA Climate Leaders -- initiatives we fully support.

Finally, we heard loud and clear from a passionate and vocal group who expressed concerns about Burt's Bees' support of Clorox, a company that conducts limited product safety testing on animals.

We reached out to our partners at Clorox to tackle the issue together. In so doing, we learned that Clorox has been working to end animal testing for years. Clorox's current policy allows animal testing only when it's required by a regulatory body. The rare exception to this policy, which only senior management can authorize, would be if other efforts have been exhausted to establish the product's safety profile. We also learned a great deal about EPA requirements for products regulated as disinfectants and protocols established by the Consumer Safety Products Commission for animal testing and labeling requirements.

We understand that eliminating animal testing will require significant scientific advances as well as regulatory policy change. And, to foster new protocols and encourage acceptance of alternatives to conventional animal testing in the area of public health disinfectant products, it will take further diligence from Clorox in collaboration with industry partners and the EPA. We believe Clorox is committed to eliminating animal testing altogether, and we will continue to engage the issue with our Clorox colleagues.

Burt's Bees remains steadfast to our guiding principles and fundamentally in the belief that together with you, our consumers, we can be one of the most powerful forces for positive change. We hope to continue to build your trust and loyalty.

I would like to keep the dialogue open and hear back from you with any questions, concerns, support or feedback.

As always, thanks for your passion, belief and support.

Sincerely,
John Replogle