11.05.2007 - 08:00am ET

(CSRwire) DURHAM, NC - November 2, 2007 - The mysterious disappearance of bees, called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), is a growing threat to honey bees, the mainstay of pollination services in agriculture. Bee-friendly, natural personal care company Burt's Bees is addressing this environmental issue by developing a campaign with co-founder Burt Shavitz that will raise consumer awareness through PSA distribution, online marketing and consumer sampling efforts. Burt's Bees will also partner with the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC both with research funding as well as a heightened awareness push later this year.

On November 2nd, Burt's Bees will hit the big screen with a new cinema campaign to raise awareness of CCD. Burt's Bees public service announcement run in nationwide cinemas will coincide with the theatrical debut of "BEE MOVIE," the highly anticipated DreamWorks Animation SKG movie co-written by and starring Jerry Seinfeld opposite Academy Award(R) winner Renee Zellweger.

The new PSA highlights the fact that every third bite of food we eat depends on bees for pollination, and features Burt's Bees co-founder Burt Shavitz talking about the important role bees play in agriculture. "We believe the bees' survival depends on how we manage and protect our world," he says. "Burt's Bees is funding research to help find a solution, and you can help too. Support your local organic farmer. Plant a seed. Make a healthy place for the bees to live." The spot also urges audiences to visit www.burtsbees.com to sign up to receive a free packet of seeds to grow bee-friendly flowers and learn more about Colony Collapse Disorder.

"We wanted to tie in to 'BEE MOVIE' because the movie is tied in to colony collapse disorder. It will allow us to get across this important message in a high profile way," said Mike Indursky, chief marketing & strategic officer of Burt's Bees. "As the leader in natural personal care, we believe in the greater good and felt it was important to raise awareness of this major threat to our environment and our agriculture. Bees, food flowers, people - we're all connected."

Through a recent grant, Burt's Bees has funded a specific "task force" with the NAPPC coined The Honeybee Health Improvement Project. The HHIP task force is led by Danny Weaver, J.D., President of The American Beekeeping Federation, Christina Grozinger, Ph.D., Asst. Professor of Insect Genomics at North Carolina State University and Barry Thompson, M.D., a Director of the Eastern Apicultural Society and includes well-renowned researchers from around the country (a complete list is found at www.pollinator.org). The company's support will fund initiating this task force as well as research of key issues facing honeybee health: beekeeper education, foraging opportunities and breeding stock research. Also in support, Burt's Bees will produce and distribute 50,000 packets with bee-pollinating seeds through their website, product orders, and through local sampling efforts.

Laurie Davies Adams of the NAPPC says, "We are grateful to Burt's Bees for their generous donation towards the Honeybee Health Improvement Project. It is critical for companies to support this important research that will help stave off continued threats, like Colony Collapse Disorder, to the North American honeybee."

Burt's Bees already attains their beeswax and honey in a completely bee-friendly technique, but the company believes they can do more. One of the many suspected challenges to honeybees is the use of pesticides. Consequently, Burt's Bees does not use pesticides nor support their use. The source of beeswax for our products is wild bees that are not exposed to pesticides as they pollinate wildflowers.

About Burt’s Bees, Inc.

Since 1991, Burt’s Bees has been offering distinctive all-natural personal care products. Today, Burt's Bees is the leading manufacturer in Natural Personal Care with over 150 Earth-friendly, natural personal care products, including face care, body care, hair care, lip care, personal wash, men's grooming, baby care, outdoor remedies, kits and gifts. Burt's Bees has a rich tradition in corporate social responsibility and stands for The Greater Good with all their products having the highest levels of natural ingredients, nature-safe processes, and environmentally sensitive packaging. Burt's Bees has 350 employees with products available through approximately 30,000 retail stores in the United States, as well as Canada, UK, Taiwan with its website (www.burtsbees.com).

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