Maison Birks is doing its part to protect honey bees, a critical link in the chain of a healthy ecosystem.
The announcement is part of the retailer’s new corporate social responsibility initiative.
“To mark the fact that we are turning 135 this year, we decided to focus on celebrating the future,” said Jean-Christophe Bédos, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Birks Group Inc.
“What better way to do that than by protecting nature’s most representative symbol of life and continuity, the honey bee. This new platform is part of our commitment to social responsibility, which also includes the sourcing of Canadian diamonds for all our Birks diamond rings. Canadian diamonds can be traced back to their mine of origin, offering the guarantee they are ethically mined.”
In each of the last six years, one-third of honey bee colonies have been lost in North America and Europe. Known as colony collapse, the disorder can decimate the ecosystem. Bees play a central role in sustaining almost 90 per cent of wild plants, supporting biodiversity, whole ecosystems, and the critical balance of water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide that supports all life.
As part of the platform, Maison Birks has partnered with the Honey Bee Research Centre (HBRC) at Ontario’s University of Guelph.
Ten per cent of each sale of a Birks-designed honeycomb-shape silver pendant will be donated to HBRC to support its efforts in finding solutions to improve bee health, ensure food security, and protect the environment.
“Bees pollinate the plants that provide one out of every three bites of food we eat,” says Eva Hartling, Birks Group’s vice-president of marketing.
“We are thrilled to be paying homage to them through delightful new jewellery collections, while also raising awareness about their disappearance, all in the hopes of helping find solutions to the issue.”
The addition of an urban beekeeping installation and suspended green roof at its Square Phillips flagship boutique in Montreal is also in the works with the support of Alvéole, a local group promoting urban beekeeping.
