When we launched Organic Hive in 2024, we took things a step further.

We could've just launched a better-tasting organic honey, sourced from a remote corner of Brazil and called it a day.

But after flying out to meet the local beekeepers and double-checking the organic certifications ourselves, we wanted to make sure the beekeepers were supported for the long-term. 

We partnered with IBD - the same international certifying body that certified our honey organic – to certify it Fair Trade. And in just one year, our Fair Trade program has already made a huge impact.

What is Fair Trade Honey?

You might be familiar with fair trade from coffee, chocolate, cotton or other commodity products. Because these are traded on poorly regulated, highly competitive international exchanges, they often lead to a race to the bottom in terms of working conditions for the farmers who produce them. Organic honey is no exception. 

We've blogged before about how honey is one of the most faked foods in the world. Even if it's labelled "organic" it might be a blend of untraceable honeys from as many as 4 different countries. Honey from China, India, and Turkey is often sold on these international exchanges that make it tough to trace and verify. 

To source Organic Hive, we did things differently. We ignored the middlemen and searched for the best-tasting, organically produced honey in the world. We found it from one beekeeping co-op in northeastern Brazil. The tropical climate, hilly terrain, and isolated communities make this area difficult for agriculture but perfect for honey production.

By going straight to the source, meeting the beekeepers, and visiting them in their homes and communities, we were able to see with our own eyes that their bees are kept miles from any industrial agriculture. In fact, many of these communities are totally reliant on beekeeping for income. They transport their hives by motorcycle over miles of dirt roads to get to the nearest honey house where they can extract and sell it.

 

How Our Fair Trade Program Supports Beekeepers

We believe Brazil is the best place in the world to source organic honey. By bottling Organic Hive as a single-origin honey, we can protect the honey's local character & flavor and support beekeepers directly.

IBD's Fair Trade certification is unique in the way it empowers these local communities and co-ops. Representatives from IBD meet with the beekeepers to determine both social and economic programs they believe would most benefit them, then delivers funds toward those projects. That way, beekeepers can grow their businesses and better support their families and communities as they see fit.

Our Fair Trade Initiatives: Year One

In our first year, proceeds from Organic Hive have already:

• Funded a mobile extraction trailer that visits beekeepers in their local communities, allowing them to sell their honey from home, instead of transporting hives over miles of dirt roads (by motorcycle!)

 

• Rebuilt and upgraded a community center, outfitting it with new floors and sanitary facilities

 

• Installed a community garden and plant nursery at a local school, allowing children to learn the importance of organic agriculture firsthand

 

• Supplied more than 600 hive boxes for a group of beekeepers, allowing them to expand their operations

 

• Constructed a new "honey house" where a beekeeper co-op can safely extract their honey under one roof

 

• Facilitated a new water reclamation tank and plant nursery for an isolated community in the high desert

Plans are beginning to form for new fair trade initiatives as new beekeeping co-ops join in. Some of these communities in the high desert lack water for months at a time. Others need transportation. Others need training in beekeeping. Others need to grow their operations in order to fend off investment from non-organic agriculture. Others need to preserve the unique flora in their settlements. There's still so much good we can do for these beekeepers and their communities.

A Difference in Every Drop

Proceeds from every bottle of Organic Hive go back to the beekeepers who produce it. But there's another benefit, too, one that we heard again and again from beekeepers: a partnership. Because we've brought their honey to millions of Americans, these beekeepers can expand their livelihood like never before, confident that there's demand for their premium honey. When you're wrangling millions of bees every day, rain or shine, that certainty makes life a lot easier.

Take it from Claudoaldo, an Organic Hive beekeeper who's putting his daughter through law school: "I will never quit beekeeping, even though it means I work late. I'm proud that Americans can have the same honey I put on my table."

A co-op of beekeepers who received new beehives from Organic Hive.

The new organic plant nursery in the high desert. Plants include edible and medicinal herbs, as well as pollinator favorites.

A group of beekeepers on their day off.

 

Students showing off some of the organic crops they grew in their school's nursery. Each class competes to grow the most crops. (The 9th graders are winning.)

 

Students planting a new tree on campus to mark our visit.

 

Students tending their organic garden.

 

Our Organic Hive mobile extraction trailer visits isolated communities, saving beekeepers hundreds of hours of transportation during harvest season.