What is special about Manuka honey and where it comes from

The mānuka tree itself is a highly sustainable tree and plays a key role in the overall fabric of New Zealand's native deciduous trees and important plant layers. The mānuka tree helps to enrich and revitalize the soil with minerals, while also acting as a natural purifier for waterways and preventing soil erosion. Bees pollinate the mānuka flowers, and the tree self-seeds, allowing new undergrowth to grow rapidly year after year. This allows a deeply natural cycle to take place in a protected manner, in the case of ACTIVIST, and enrich nature and wildlife alike.

Mānuka honey is one of the most unique and beneficial forms of honey in the world. In 1981, researchers at New Zealand's University of Waikato discovered that Mānuka honey has a significantly higher enzyme content than regular honey. They identified Mānuka's active ingredient, methylglyoxal (MGO) , as a measurable concentration that determines the honey's effectiveness. Overall, Mānuka has strong anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antimicrobial properties, making it a great addition to any wellness routine and natural health pharmacy. Mānuka honey helps with burns and wounds, promotes digestion, and promotes oral and throat health. in the treatment of acne, eczema, and the repair of irritated or damaged skin. It strengthens the immune system, promotes overall skin health, and even has anti-aging effects, as the MGO contained in Mānuka honey protects the skin's own collagen and promotes its regeneration. Available from North Glow in quantities of 50 to 1000 MGO .

Harvesting the Mānuka oil is another sustainable part of our process, one that doesn't involve any conservation concerns. Mānuka is a wild resource and grows freely and abundantly in New Zealand. The leaves from which our oil is distilled are returned to the soil after harvesting and form a mulch. This mulch retains moisture, promotes new growth, and serves as a breeding ground for beetles and insects—all of which brings life and abundance back to the soil.

About the founders of ACTIVIST

Activist was founded by Gabrielle Mirkin and her husband Luke Harwood. Their shared passion for the earth and its flora and fauna, as well as natural products (like Manuka honey ), dates back to their childhood in New Zealand.

Luke's love of surfing and the native coastal landscape of New Zealand led him to understand the important role of bees (and precious Manuka honey) in nature and its living cycle. This was the impetus for him to create ACTIVIST. Gabrielle's time in New York City, where she worked as a senior art director at Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, led to an urgent need to slow down. She began to long to discover and pursue new interests outside the fast-paced world of fashion and its publications. Gabrielle's love for a health that allows people to radiate and be strong from within based on their own self-healing powers, as well as her belief in natural healing methods and foods, drove her to develop ACTIVIST.