This World Bee Day, Neal’s Yard Remedies (NYR) is taking its #StandByBees campaign to new heights, donating 6% of proceeds from sales of its Bee Lovely range to charities including Bees for Development and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust

The British Beauty Council has been a long supporter of NYR’s #StandByBees campaign which has seen a coalition of more than 100 brands and organisations collaborate to lobby the government for the protection of pollinators. 

Bees, and other cross-fertilising insects, carry an approximate value of £691 million to the UK economy in terms of the value of the crops they fertilise. Thus, it is vital that these insects are protected against damaging environmental practices including the use of neonicotinoids. 

These pesticides were originally banned in 2018, however the government issued emergency authorisation for the use of neonicotinoids on sugar beet crops, reigniting the #StandByBees campaign. 

According to the Bugs Matter National Report (2021), the UK’s flying insect population has declined by as much as 60% in the last 20 years. In response, co-owner of Neal’s Yard Remedies, Anabel Kindersley, is calling on the government to set meaningful targets to reduce pesticide use in a bid to reverse the dramatic decline in pollinator populations.

What’s more, the brand has pledged to double its donations to bee-focused charities from the sale of it’s Bee Lovely Range – increasing donations from 3% to 6%. 

Since 2011, the brand has donated approximately £300,000 to charity. This has gone towards ​​vital conservation projects including that run by Bees for Development, with whom Neal’s Yard Remedies have helped save over 56 million bees. 

Shop the Bee Lovely Range here.

If you aren’t able to shop this World Bee Day, you can support the #SaveTheBees campaign by writing to your MP. Here’s how: 

1. Find out who your local MP is, which you can do here.
2. Note down your local MP’s email and postal addresses, which can be found here.
3. Visit the #StandByBees .
4. Click “Generate an email to my MP” 
   1. This will automatically open your email browser, with the template letter already in the body of the email. 
   2. Supporters just need to fill in their MPs name and email address, plus their own name and postcode. 
   3. They can also edit and personalise the body of the email if they wish.