Immortalized in ink on the packaging of millions of salves, balms and other earthy cosmetics, Burt Shavitz's physical form has moved on.
It is with broken hearts that we must convey the saddest news: Burt Shavitz, our co-founder and namesake, has left for greener fields and wilder woods. We remember him as a bearded, free-spirited Maine man, a beekeeper, a wisecracker, a lover of golden retrievers and his land. Above all, he taught us to never lose sight of our relationship with nature. Now it's up to us, the brand he helped build—and you, his fans and advocates—to sustain his spirit and ideals. Thanks for everything, Burt. We'll miss you.
The Washington Post's obituary recalls a "cantankerous hippie" who was, in fact, forced out of the company he co-founded long ago, largely cut out of its $900m sale to Clorox.
Shavitz didn't seem to mind missing out on 93 percent of a windfall.
"In the long run, I got the land, and land is everything," he told a filmmaker for the 2013 documentary "Burt's Buzz." "Money is nothing really worth squabbling about. This is what puts people six feet under. You know, I don't need it."
This critique extended to corporate culture: "I had no desire to be an upward-mobile rising yuppie with a trophy wife, a trophy house, a trophy car," he said.
