Portland, OR – Bambu today announced a corporate initiative to support honey bee research through its sponsorship of Oregon State University’s Honey Bee Lab, according to company president and co-founder Jeff Delkin.
“The Honey Bee Research Lab is making important inroads to understanding the complexities of maintaining healthy honey bee colonies,” Delkin said. “Honey bees are critical to healthy food systems. We’re sponsoring the lab to support its ongoing work— a great example of dedicated people working to build healthy eco-systems that benefit us all.”
OSU’s Honey Bee Research and Extension program focuses on honey bee health, nutrition, and pollination, servicing commercial beekeepers, backyard beekeepers, producers, and all citizens interested in bees. The lab is responsible for comprehensive analysis of honey bee health in the state of Oregon; evaluating effects of nutrition and pollen diversity on honey bee health; enhancing pollination efficiency of honey bee colonies in hard-to-pollinate crops; and development and support for the Oregon Master Beekeeper Program.
“Honey bees and other pollinators are critical for our food security and ecosystem. Currently honey bees are facing enormous challenges that need to be addressed soon to promote sustainable apiculture and pollination,” OSU Department of Horticulture professor Ramesh Sagili said. “The Honey Bee Lab is delighted to establish a partnership with Bambu to improve honey bee health.”
In addition to the financial support the company is contributing to the lab, Bambu has launched a Honey Bee Collection of products, which includes: an Organic Bamboo Honey Dipper, Honeycomb 
Bamboo Cutting Board, Bee Motif Coasters (set of four), and Hemp Denim Baby Bib.
With roots in Portland, Oregon, since 2003 Bambu has designed, developed and manufactured handcrafted, modern home products made from renewable materials such as bamboo, hemp, cork, coconut and soy. The company is headquartered in Shanghai, China, where it produces more than 150 different products in its own production workshop and partnering facilities, all of which are located close to their raw-materials sources. In 2013 Bambu opened a North American sales and customer service office in Portland. Its products are sold in more than a dozen countries through diverse retail distribution partnerships in the gift, kitchen, gourmet, grocery and hospitality market segments. The company is a member of Green America and its Green Business Network, and manufactures using organic sources certified by IMO Switzerland. A selection of Bambu’s products is USDA Biobased-certified.
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