Socially Responsible and Environmental Causes

Environmental Cause - Runamok Maple

At one of the most northern points in the United States an almost ceremonious business is run under the title Runamok Maple. The business is one that despite technological tool advances, the business is still carried out the way it was over hundreds of year's ago. The hardworking personnel trek through waste high snow, withstand freezing temperatures, to plug over 81,000 trees to create a little delicious and beloved thing called maple syrup. And we believe that because business is handled the way our ancestors did it for so long, keeps the company so close and focused on nature, making for a very conscious, green, and exciting business today.

With Masters Degrees in Environmental Management and extensive experience working for environmental advocacy, Runamok's founders Eric & Laura Sorkin have transformed their sugarbushes into diverse, rich ecosystems that are mutually beneficial for both maple production as well as the inhabiting species.

Working in close conjunction with NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association), they undergo annual inspections to confirm that their land meets or exceeds all requirements for organic certification. In doing so, they are able to ensure that our sugarbushes provide contiguous forested habitat corridors for endemic and migratory species. Furthermore, they partner with the National Audubon Society to implement practices and conditions which maintain they sugarbushes as Certified Bird-Friendly, meaning their land is highly beneficial to the stunning forest birds that make the woods of Vermont their home.  Check them out here https://runamokmaple.com/

Why we love them: This is conscious capitalism at it's finest. The process is working with nature to reap its rewards, without disrupting or damaging the ecosystem, so that consumers can completely enjoy the taste and backing of the product. And we definitely do enjoy it.

Environmental Cause - Savannah Bee

Savannah Bee Company is the leading manufacturer of all things Honeybee. The company was born out of founder's, Ted Dennard, passion for and extensive knowledge of the unique species of the honeybee. What started as a small store selling honey in Savannah Georgia, has now grown into an empire of some the purest honey and bee beauty products on the market. His mission has been simple: strive to live as bees live - symbiotically with nature and in a manner that contributes positively to the world around us. His team is doing that in more ways then putting high quality products into our hands.

In 2013 they founded The Bee Cause Project, a not-for-profit that installs observation honeybee hives in schools worldwide, with the mission to provide the next generation with opportunities to understand, engage, and learn from honey bees in order to connect with the natural environment while developing STEAM skills. As you might know, bees are being threatened by modern industrialization and agriculture (amongst other environmental factors) and are declining as a whole at a rapid rate. What better way then to teach our future generation about the importance of bees on our environment. To date the project has provided over 330 beehives in 50 states and 4 countries.

Outside of The Bee Cause Project, if are passing through Savannah, GA or you are a lucky individual who lives there, the Savannah Bee team offers tours around their beekeeping facilitates where you will get to interact and learn about the bees, and surely leave with some delicious honey. Check them out here https://savannahbee.com/

Why we love them: We don't pretend to know a lot about bees and beekeeping, but what we do know is that typically a bee hive or colony will decline about 5-10 percent during the winter. In U.S. today it becoming common that 30-50 percent (or even more) are dying off in the winter season. Bees are very important for pollination across earth, as well as the great nutrients find in their honey. It makes us feel good that Savannah Bee is built around the love for the bee species and is giving back to the bees for the gifts the company has been given from the bees. Not to mention they are arming our future generations with the knowledge to carry on the fight for such integral creature of our ecosystem.