Dive Brief:
- A group of organizations, led by Beyond Pesticides Executive Director Jay Feldman, has written a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asking him to remove neonicotinoid products from the Amazon site.
- The letter said that these products—many available on Amazon today—have been linked to pollinator declines.
- Last year, beekeepers lost 44.1% of their colonies, and the problem appears to be getting worse.
Dive Insight:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has gone on record saying the neonicotinoid products are highly toxic to bees, and there has been a great deal of evidence indicating that the chemicals play a role in pollinator decline.
Environmental groups have tried to educate people about how these harmful products have been found in pollen, nectar and bee hives, explaining how they can impair bee reproductive, navigation and foraging functions.
This is a serious problem. Honeybee pollination alone accounts for $15 billion in crops from more than 130 fruits and vegetables. Approximately 33% of all food and beverages are made possible by insect pollination.
Amazon was singled out in this letter, but groups like these are making lots of noise, so it’s fair to assume that similar letters have gone out to, or are planned for other large companies like Wal-Mart, Target and Kroger, who also sell some of these products.
Over the years, Amazon has been big on championing its sustainability efforts in the press, so taking an action like this could go a long way in proving that commitment to its customers. A voluntary move like this can show shoppers the eco-conscious side of a retailer — which may engender loyalty down the line.