Why bees get a buzz from The Soap Co.

The Soap Co.’s new luxurious body care collection is creating a real BUZZ – and oddly enough it’s not just the discerning buyer who’s set to benefit. It’s bees too. Yes, bees.

You can view Soap Co’s products here: The Soap Co

Urbanization, acid rain and other contaminants are bombarding our countryside and forcing bees out. The more bee friendly flowers are sown, the more we combat this assault on the ecosystem necessary both to help the food industry stay intact and keep nature just as we like it – natural.

We are committed to protecting and sustaining our planet, and bees share the same commitment throughout their lifetime. Did you know that if we lost bees, it will trigger a chain reaction leading to disappearance of a third of the fruits and vegetables on the planet? That’s a lot!

Our impact

By choosing the skin-soothing and beauty-enhancing botanicals of borage and calendula in our new eco range we are providing a sustainable flower garden for bees. The long flowering season for these flowers reduces the risk of bee colonies starving over the June nectar gap and provides a regular source of forage after August for last minute nectar collection, before the cold nights set in.

Borage is one of the star crops in the drive for bee preservation. An ancient species and a much-valued herb, it is traditionally cultivated for pharmaceutical and body care purposes due to the rich oil extracted from its seeds. The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder believed that borage was the ‘Nepenthe’ in Homer’s Odyssey, which induced absolute forgetfulness. At The Soap Co. we don’t dare to forget how important borage is in attracting bees!

Calendula officinalis is also an ideal plant for bees to collect pollen from. Their edible flower’s petals can be used to flavour soups and stews and they reseed, providing years of beauty and nectar in the garden. In fact, 5 tonnes of fresh flowers can sustain 20 half size bee colonies with about 20,000 individuals in each.

“Borage and Calendula are great for attracting bees due to their long flowering period and nectar rich flowers. Honeybees and bumblebees find these simply irresistible. A handy tip for those growing their own vegetables is to plant both Borage and Calendula around the veg patch. You are likely to see an increase in yield, most likely by attracting more pollinators to the area,” says Sameer Ghai of The London Bee Company.

To sum up, at The Soap Co. we have created a brand new, luxury body care collection – Geranium & Rhubarb, Wild Nettle & Sage and Fragrance Free – that extracts the very best from borage and calendula flowers to soothe and revitalise your skin – and also give our much-loved bees a chance to thrive in their ancient British habitats.

You can view Soap Co’s products here: The Soap Co