Breaking down cannabis stigmas and stereotypes, Bridget May and Kim Howard are building their hemp and cannabis skincare brand, Green Bee Botanicals, on a platform of ethics, sustainability, and integrity.

With the changing tides of legality and acceptance of cannabis, women are a growing consumer demographic. According to reports from Brightfield Group last year, 51% of cannabis consumers are women, and most use a wide variety of cannabis products.

Bridget May and Kim Howard, two childhood friends living in California, saw more than just a business opportunity – they saw an opportunity to do business their way. By building a network of women-led, women-owned partners, Bridget and Kim not only formulated an award-winning cannabis skincare line, but they also built it on a foundation of integrity.

Their Green Bee Botanicals, farm-to-face hemp and cannabis skincare line is a passion project for these women in wine country.

Collaboration vs. Competition

From the inception of their products and the start of their journey, these women factored ethics into their business plans. Bridget admits to changing her product lineup simply because she didn’t want to create a product that would compete with her friends and business associates. So rather than formulate another tincture, she looked to topicals and skin care products.

Now, the women are working with a complex network of other women-owned businesses and entities to deliver Farm-to-Face topicals through sustainable and ethical practices.

Quality Cannabis Skincare Starts with Testing

Kim & Bridget understand the value of integrity and doing what’s right versus doing what’s cheapest. Talking about clean label projects and the greenwashing happening in manufacturing, they know that providing a clean, safe product shouldn’t be just a marketing scheme.

When people are buying and using products with intent and purchase a product to help with a skin condition or to aid in healing and recovery – they don’t want to be applying mystery chemicals or toxins. Transparency through testing is the best route.

The Energy Women Bring to Cannabis

As half the world’s population, Bridget believes women should represent 50% of the businesses as well – not just out of some equity initiative, but to shift the energy in how business is done.

“How can we help?”

Kim recalled a recent meeting where a male colleague was frustrated with the challenges he was facing in his own business, and one of the women in the room spoke up and simply asked, “How can we help?” And suddenly, the energy changed.

The End of Prohibition – The Future of Cannabis

One thing is for sure, Bridget and Kim aren’t in this simply for the riches. The challenges of working in a federally restricted industry haven’t been easy for the duo, but as they close the podcast, their vision for the long haul is what separates Green Bee Botanicals from the noise.

Kim compares the end of cannabis prohibition to the end of alcohol prohibition. There were early leaders in the alcohol industry who flourished to become well-known brands today. And that’s exactly where they hope to see Green Bee Botanicals when the dust settles – a trusted, proven brand that survives the changing tides as cannabis moves to mainstream.

Watch the entire podcast for the full story of women, weed, and wine country, see the video of Sonoma Hills Farm in Petaluma, California, and the amazing before and after photos from some of their customers.