Product Sustainability
The Buzz about Burt’s Bees
The Burt’s Bees® brand is the leading natural personal care brand in the U.S. Burt’s Bees creates natural, Earth-friendly personal care products formulated to help promote the well-being of consumers as well as the world around them.
To make certain that our products meet the highest standards, all products are carefully crafted from time-tested, proven recipes using ingredients that are the best nature has to offer: beeswax, botanical and essential oils, herbs, flowers and minerals. These safe, effective ingredients have withstood the test of time. We’re proud that more than half of all Burt’s Bees® products are 100% natural. Through reformulations and testing, we are aggressively pursuing the goal for all products to be 100% natural.
Additionally, we use only natural colors in our products. Some of these include beta-carotene, chlorophyll, titanium dioxide and mica. As far as fragrance components go, we use them only when absolutely necessary, and all fragrances used are phthalate-free.
We also work hard to reduce, reuse and recycle. Most of Burt’s Bees®’ product packaging is created from recycled materials, or is developed with recyclability and re-use in mind, like the easy-to-recycle aluminum containers. For example, our world famous lip balm container is made from recycled plastic.
Burt’s Bees’ ultimate goal is to be the “greenest personal care company on earth.” To this end, we have set wide-ranging goals to achieve by 2020. By that time, we want to be carbon free and operate on 100 percent renewable energy, with no waste deposited in landfills. Our offices and manufacturing facilities will have LEED certification. And employees will have ready access to the education, inspiration and motivation we need to make sustainable choices, in their workplace and in their homes.
Burt’s Bees Packaging
Burt’s Bees must ensure that how products are made and packaged lives up to the highest standards both for consumers and the environment. By 2020, it is expected that all product formulas will be 100 percent natural and all product packaging will be 100 percent PCR/Biodegradable. As a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, we are continuing to develop innovative sustainable packaging solutions for themselves and the industry. In addition to using the highest approved levels of Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) or Post Industrial Recycled (PIR) and recyclable materials whenever possible, here are a few other achievements:
- Shrink wrap free packing. This has eliminated 1,800 miles of shrink wrap film that would have been sent to the landfill -- enough to wrap the Statue of Liberty 100 times!
- Trimmed the excess packaging from many products - some by 50 percent!
- Pioneered the introduction of TerraSkin™ Wraps, an environmentally friendly, treeless and bleach-free paper alternative used to package most bar soaps. It has a lower absorption rate and uses 20-30 percent less ink when printing. And because it’s stronger and water resistant, it makes for less waste.
Learn more about Burt's Bees' commitments and goals: