Burt "The Bee Man" Shavitz, co-founder and namesake of Burt's Bees, died at 80 years old.
While the company noted, "Burt never set out to change the world," he did so nonetheless.
"We remember him as a wild-bearded and free-spirited Maine man, a beekeeper, a wisecracker, a lover of golden retrievers, a reverent observer of nature and the kind face that smiles back at us from our Hand Salve," Burt's Bees noted in the statement.
The company, which Shavitz co-founded with Roxanne Quimby, was acquired by Clorox in 2007.
To continue its efforts, Burt’s Bees launched a natural campaign in 2008. Additionally, the company was recognized for
• The 2012 Beauty Insiders’ Choice Awards for Butters Body Lotion,
• The acknowledgement of bees’ roles in the beauty industry and
• Its global demand for organic personal care products.
Despite all his accomplishments and efforts with the company, Burt's Bees noted, "Above all, Burt was always Burt—an uncompromising individual of his own invention—shaped by the moment and his curiosities rather than his ambitions or someone else’s grand plan ... As a beekeeper, he connected intimately with the bees, whose profound relationship to humans, our food and our environment is only now being more fully understood ..."
