It’s World Bee Day. Known as the guardians of our environment, the busy creature works hard everyday to ensure that our ecosystems function properly: foraging from flower to flower, and transferring the pollen that yields our fruit. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that the big skincare, fragrance and cosmetics houses like Guerlain have taken it upon themselves to advocate for bee protection—strengthening their “Guerlain for Bees Conservation Programme” for over ten years now.
If you’re looking out for the specifics, according to an IBPES Assessment Report on Pollination and Food Production, “over 75% of cultivated crops and 90% of our wild flowering plants depend on pollinators, specifically bees.” And whilst the extreme reliance on bees for our crops is evident, the threat of their dwindling existence still seems to evade us. But perhaps, this doesn’t have to be the case anymore.
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Throughout the globe, World Bee Day holds significant power to continue protecting our precious busy bees. With French houses like Guerlain contributing sales profits and pushing for donations via social media, the launch of Women for Bees in partnership with UNESCO to train new beekeepers and continue operations, and innovative collaborations with artists who incorporate the nature of bees into his work—there is much to explore when it comes to ensuring the bees will continue to have a space in our world.
So if you want in on the global bee movement, we’ve put together a little guide of some ways you can contribute this World Bee Day, or any day really.
Purchase Guerlain’s limited-edition Huile-en-Eau Abeille Royale
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As part of their “Guerlain for Bees Conservation Programme”, the French maison is donating 20% of their sales over this weekend: from 20 May to 22 May. This includes their iconic skincare range: the Abeille Royale that proves our need for bees doesn’t just stop at our essential crops. The skin repair benefits are abound, and this time around, the limited-edition bottle has been artfully imagined by Tomás Libertîny, an artist who incorporates the beauty and intelligence of nature into his work.
Spread the word from Guerlain’s Instagram account
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Alternatively, look to awareness-driven ways of showing your support. For every repost of their original visual created by Tomás Libertîny—with the hashtags #GuerlainForBees and #WorldBeeDay, €20 pounds will be donated to the Conservation Programme. The Programme is one that ultimately supports and promotes the continuation of beekeeping operations and aids in raising awareness, so rest assured that you’ll be supporting the bees in your own little way.
Invest in and advocate for bee-based skincare
Like French house Guerlain, homegrown label BSKIN looks to delivering skincare that is formulated using only the highest-quality, natural ingredients: of which is heavily led by bee-derived ingredients such as honey, royal jelly and pollen. From their Eye Care Multi-Tasking Power Serum to their targeted Anti Acne 3C Spot Treatment, their smart products are largely safe for all skin types, and sustainably procured. What’s more is that as part of World Bee Day, BSKIN will be gifting a complimentary plantable seeded colour pencil with any BSKIN purchase so as part of their movement to keep the ecosystem going.
Educate yourself
And of course—what better way to support the bees than to truly educate yourself (and others!) on the state of our bees? Learn more about local organisations that do much of the legwork for you, be it conservations efforts or growing gardens for bees to thrive. This includes spaces like Nutrinest that aims to promote local bee conservation via educational workshops or humane bee removal services, and BeeAmazed that offers basic beekeeping lessons.
