Celebrating 40 years of Burt’s Bees with a look back to 1984
By Gabi Laurent, Brand Experience Manager
In the early 1980s, artist Roxanne Quimby had a chance meeting with beekeeper Burt Shavitz in Maine, which sparked what would become Burt’s Bees. Forty years later, we’re celebrating her passion for preserving wilderness by taking you back to the summer of 1984 with a limited-edition launch: a Wild Blueberry lip balm and Summer 1984 merch collection.
The Wild Blueberry lip balm, which comes in a recycled* paper tube, nods to our Maine heritage and helps write the chapter of her latest legacy: using profits from the sale of lip balm to purchase land and advocate for its preservation. In 2016, she donated 87,500 acres of Maine woodlands to the U.S. government, which has now become Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
As part of the campaign, we’re investing $3 million in the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument’s new Tekαkαpimək Contact Station, welcoming the public through the worldview and artistry of the Wabanaki people. A gift to the nation, the project is being developed in partnership with the Roxanne Quimby Foundation, Elliotsville Foundation, a Wabanaki advisory board and the National Park Service. This visitor contact station reflects the Wabanaki people, the land’s natural resources and the future of the region. It will open in August. Learn more about this initiative in a recently published Forbes story, “How the Women Behind Burt’s Bees Turned Lip Balm Profits into Land Preservation.”
The merch collection pays homage to our heritage and supports the Katahdin Woods and Water National Monument Visitor Contact Station. You can shop the merch, which features a Burt’s Bees x ENO®: The Balm Hammock, Burt Moto Tee, Camp Burt’s Bees Tee, Bee Bucket Hat, The Balm Beach Towel, Stick-On Patches, Bee Botanical Bandana and The Balm Keychain, on burtsbees.com.
Starting July 15, we’ll kick off a four-week sweepstakes on Instagram and TikTok to award merch, products and a grand prize canoe camping trip in Maine!
Stay tuned to Burt’s Bees Instagram and TikTok to see more about the collection and learn about the brand’s story and legacy.
*Tube made with 100% recycled paper plus non-paper adhesive, ink, and a protective inner coating.