I have fallen in love with this new campaign launched by J.Crew, Save the Bees. Anything that promotes the well-being of other living beings is very important to me.
For the last year I have seen a lot of new campaigns aimed to build awareness about the state of our dear bumble bees. It definitely changes the way you see honey or a beautiful bouquet of flowers. When you understand what’s going on you realize some things aren’t so sweet when you take a closer look.
Why Bees? It’s more than honey. You, not just me should know a few things about why bees are so important. You should know why we need to pay attention to what’s really going on. It’s easy get lost in our lives and brainwashed by senseless reality tv ( I watch it too). We know so much about the Kardashians but we know so little about what’s going on with our environment. Which, I will tell you is far more important than whether or not we like Kim Kardashian’s new hair colour.
Here are some things you need to know:
Neonicotinoids are pesticides that cause damage to their brain (the bees) and as a result they cannot find flowers to feed on; hence their number decreases. Why does this matter? Well, less bees leads to a decrease in pollination. There will not be enough bees to keep up.
Why do we use Neonicotinoids? And what are they?
Neonicotinoids: are new class of insecticides that were initially consider less toxic and safe for bees and other insects.
They are called the nicotine of insecticides because they have the same chemical compounds as nicotine.
Since they are water soluble this prevents insecticide drift from the area they are intended for. They are used to get rid of grubs, flees, cockroaches and other insects that feed on plants.
115 of the world’s principal crop species rely on and need pollination – approximately 75%
Our sweet beloved bee is integral to the $20 billion in agricultural production
8 out of 10 Wildflowers could disappear without insect pollination.
510 million pounds worth of pollination is provided by pollinating insects – Yes it’s that serious.
J.Crew & The Bees
When this campaign first started J.Crew partnered up with Buglife, a European organizations focused on protecting all invertebrate species. During the launch of this campaign in the UK bespoke seed packs were given to customers in an effort to encourage people to grow flowers at home.
Creative Director Jenna Lyons was inspired by the film “What’s Killing Bees” by Sophie Robinson. She knew building awareness to this cause would be great for J.Crew’s Good For Garmets intiative.
With the help of illustrator Emma Smith the first line of Bee T’s were created.
50% of sales from European sales go to Buglife.
Today, EARTH DAY, J.Crew launched their second campaign illustrated by New York based, Canadian-born, Donald Robertson. This is the second installment of the Save the Bees campaign. For this campaign J.Crew teamed up with Xerces Society, an Oregan based non-profit dedicated to the conservation of invertebrate species. 50% proceeds of all women’s and children’s t-shirts created for this line will be donated to Xerces Society.
I hope this enourages you to find out more. We can’t forever be blindfold by things that don’t really pertain to the reality of what is REALLY going on in our lives. This is what MATTERS. Our planet depends on our awareness and understanding. Trust me we you won’t miss a thing. Put the remote down and become engaged with life. There is no reality show better than this – Save The Bees.
Photos Courtesy of: The Things I Wish I Knew and J.Crew
