Discover Bee Friendly Lavender: Lavender is one of the original scents created by the founder of Dr. Bronner’s, Emanuel Bronner. First launched in 1978, Lavender was the company’s first ever bar soap and subsequently also made into the All-One Magic Castile Liquid Soap. The pure, natural, and organic blend of Lavandin and Lavender oils used in Dr. Bronner’s products come from the Distillerie Bleu Provence in Nyons, Provence.
Lisa Bronner, granddaughter of Emanuel, describes the natural Lavender scent as: “A rich, cultivated scent, that is passionate and refined. It is deep, rich, lush, almost overwhelming – a truly beautiful scent that is much more delicate than synthetic versions.”
As well as the Lavender All-One Magic Soap (from £9.69 / 240ml) and Pure Castile Bar Soap (£6.39), there is now a whole range of beautiful lavender Dr. Bronner’s products, including the Lavender Organic Hand Hygiene Spray (£5.49/ 59ml) , the Organic Lavender and Coconut Lotion (£13.49 / 236ml) the Organic Orange Lavender Lotion (£13.49 / 236ml), and the Organic Lavender Sugar Soap (£13.99/355ml).
What makes Dr Bronner’s Lavender truly special?
In the early 2000s, David and Michael Bronner, grandsons of company founder Emanuel Bronner, became committed to sourcing all major raw ingredients certified organic and certified fair trade. Dr. Bronner’s became the largest personal care company certified under USDA’s National Organic Program and is now also committed to having its supply chain become Regenerative Organic CertifiedÔ (ROC). With the support of Dr. Gero Leson, Dr. Bronner’s Vice President of Special Operations, the relationship with Distillerie Bleu Provence began in 2017, to directly source organic Lavandin and Lavender for the brand’s Lavender scented products.
Sourcing organic and fair trade essential oils from Distillerie Bleu Provence to create the Lavender scent honours Dr. Bronner’s commitments to produce the highest quality products through the integrity of its supply chain. Here are some of the Regenerative Agricultural practices:
- This is bee friendly Lavender: The innovative “Espieur” machine used during harvesting is designed to be bee friendly! It moves slower than other methods – at only 3 km/h, compared to 5-7 km/h – and has a bee-repelling bar in front of the two flower pickers, to warn the bees of its arrival. This works to save 50% more bees than traditional methods.
- Combatting Soil Erosion – Soil erosion can be an issue with Lavender fields due to the rows in which the Lavender is planted. By planting covercrops, increasing the length of rotation, diversifying plant species, planting hedges, and having sheep strategically prune the fields certain times during the season, the soil is more protected.
- More trees – Additional trees are planted to provide shade in strategic areas.
- Less wasteful form of harvesting and distillation – Unlike the traditional harvester that cuts and collects flowers and twigs, the Espieur only harvests and collects flowers. Stems and twigs are left as mulch on the ground, therefore increasing soil biomass and fertility. By in effect reducing crop weight, the Espieur cuts energy consumption during transport by a factor of three. It also reduces steam demand during distillation to one third.
- Fair For Life – Distillerie Bleu Provence and many the local farms they work with have formed an association, known as ACE (Association Agroécologie et Commerce Equitable / Agroecology and Fair Trade Association). It has been certified fair trade under the Fair for Life program, also used by Dr. Bronner’s in its smallholder projects in the southern hemisphere (https://www.fairforlife.org).
