Bee Good – Producers of award-winning natural skincare “made by British bees”. Our passion drives everything we do at Bee Good and was born out of our love of bees and the natural world to produce a range of products for all skin types.

“We are as passionate about protecting our bees as we are about producing great skincare”
Caroline Cavill, Co-founder

Our founders Caroline and Simon Cavill are on a mission. Quite simply to help British bees thrive and survive. Caroline started making honey-based balms, salves and creams at the kitchen table, using ingredients from their own bees. She knew that honey, propolis, and beeswax had been used for thousands of years to heal and protect the skin and she embraced these natural, soothing ingredients to create formulas that benefited even the most sensitive of skin types. Caroline’s balms were so popular that they couldn’t keep up with demand and so recruited a team to help. 

We still harvest a small amount of honey, beeswax, and propolis from our own bees, but we also source these materials from other British bee farmers, most of whom are family-run businesses and are friends of Bee Good. This means we know that our supplies are from sustainable and ethical sources but just as importantly, it allows us to help ensure the survival of Honeybees and the small bee farms that do so much to support them.

“Our roots as beekeepers are so important to us. Everything we do is underpinned by support for our precious bees”
Simon Cavill, Co-founder

It’s a well known fact that many bees are in trouble. If all the bees die it’s estimated that the human race will almost certainly die with them. This is a pretty scary fact. Bees and other key insects pollinate 70% of the fruit and vegetables we eat as well as key grazing plants for farm animals. The use of pesticides and the removal of native meadows and forests have all pushed our wild bee populations close to breaking point.

Our mission at Bee Good is to support initiatives that educate and encourage people to do everything they can to help the bees not just survive but to thrive. We use honey, propolis and beeswax from our own hives and from our network of bee farmers to help sustain their businesses and care for their bees. We use bee-friendly crops and wild flower extracts to encourage the production of much needed food sources and forage for the bees. We send out wildflower seed balls with all our orders to help our customers plant bee-friendly wildflowers. We also sponsor apprentice bee farmers and Simon our founder writes articles and lectures on bee keeping all over the UK.

THE UK’S NATIVE BEES

Here in the UK we have around 270 species of bees, just under 250 of which are solitary bees. These are incredibly efficient pollinators that are critical to the success of many key food crops. In addition, we have around 20 species of Bumblebees some of which are specialist feeders dependant on a small range of native wildflowers as their main food source. The European Honeybee is the only bee native to the UK that lives in large colonies of between 10,000 – 80,000 individuals and produces the harvestable honey, beeswax and propolis used in the Bee Good product range.

Whilst wild Honeybee colonies are relatively rare due to lack of habitat, their numbers in the UK are being helped by the growing number of around 27,000 amateur beekeepers supplemented by around about 300 professional bee farmers some of which also supply Bee Good.

Since 1900, the UK has lost 13 species of solitary and bumblebees, and a further 35 are considered under threat of extinction. Across Europe nearly 1 in 10 wild bee species face extinction. The main reasons for the decline of our bees are a combination of industrial agriculture, parasites/pathogens and climate change. The loss of biodiversity, destruction of habitat and lack of forage due to monocultures and bee-killing pesticides are particular threats for bees and other wild pollinators.

THE BEE GOOD APIARY

Our founders, Simon & Caroline have been active beekeepers for many years before starting Bee Good and still keep a number of hives in and around their home in Hampshire.  The Bee Good apiary is located within a 12 acre Victorian apple orchard, surrounded by hedgerows and fields. Simon regular writes articles for the Bee Good Blog so you can follow the progress of our bees through the seasons.

PLANTING WILDFLOWER MEADOWS

Every Bee Good order is dispatched with wildflower seed balls. These enable our customers to plant and make their own bee-friendly mini-meadows. We have distributed almost 2 million wildflower seeds since 2014. 

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Sustainability is vital to the future of both bees and the health of our planet. We are proud to be part of the circular economy, using oils extracted from the seeds left over from the Black Currant & Raspberry fruits used in the beverage industry. The exfoliating particles used in our exfoliator are milled Lavender flowers left over from the extraction of Lavender oil from a family farm in Hampshire.

As an ethically conscious business, we are determined to keep our potential environmental impact to a minimum. Our products are 98.9% natural and we manufacture in England, so are keeping our carbon footprint as low as possible. Our ingredients are nearly all sourced from within the UK and we source and supply honey, beeswax and propolis from our own bees and those of other bee farmers we trust and support.

OUR PACKAGING

We have been moving to the use of recycled plastics (PCR) for our tubes which are themselves recyclable. This already applies to the majority of our product range and should be complete by the end of 2020.

Our products are dispatched in boxes made of recycled cardboard and are protected by shredded cardboard inside the boxes. Our mailing bags are made from recycled plastic which is also compostable.

DELIVERING TO OUR CUSTOMERS

Our preferred method of delivering packages is via Royal Mail. We want to support our local postmen and women who already visit your house almost every day. By doing so we eliminate the need for additional courier journeys, ultimately reducing pollution and delivery miles.

OUR STANCE ON THE USE OF PLASTIC

Plastic is an essential packaging material in today’s society and can’t be easily replaced, especially in food and cosmetics due to the relevant safety regulations. We feel that for the immediate future, the focus should be the elimination of single-use plastics where virgin material ends up in landfill. We are doing our small part in creating a cyclical process where ground up plastic pellets from previously used plastic is used to make our Bee Good packaging and we then promote responsible recycling. Glass is of course relatively easy to recycle, but it’s not really suitable for portable items such as lip balms or hand creams etc. 

Using PCR greatly reduces the use of virgin plastic altogether, regardless of whether it is manufactured from plants or petroleum. We have also removed complex pumps, lids and other materials that prevent items being easily recycled by consumers. 

We are regularly looking into the use of so-called bio-plastics and compostable plastics, but at present in the UK, recycling these items is not yet sustainable on a commercial basis, so we have taken the decision to use the most widely used PET plastics as these make up the bulk of PCR which can be re-made into more tubes and bottles.

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