Let's look at the nature of our candles. Our candles are produced ethically in small batches using eco-friendly components and packaging. Our candles are vegan and cruelty-free and are made without the use of parabens, phthalates, petroleum, or carcinogenic ingredients. We also use 100% soy wax that is harvested from sustainable crops within the USA. But what is soy wax and why does it matter?

Soy wax originates from soybeans (shocking, right?). They make this happen by taking clean cracked, cracked soybeans and rolling them into flakes. After that, the oil is extracted and hydrogenated. In addition the remaining flakes can be used as animal feed! This process alters the melting point making it stable at room temperature and perfect for candles. If being 100% natural, renewable, biodegradable, and vegan weren't enough, soy wax generally has the longest burning time and has no indoor air pollution.

What is the other kind of wax? There are three other waxes commonly used in candles. These are; paraffin wax, beeswax, as well as coconut wax. Let's discuss them. Paraffin wax is, in fact, the most used wax for candles, particularly scented candles, because it has a great scent throw. What is the reason why increasing numbers of companies switching to alternate waxes? Because they aren't renewable! Paraffin wax comes from coal, petroleum or oil, and is carcinogen! We care about the planet as well as our customers' health, in our company Brand & Iron, so renewable, sustainable and ethically sourced products are a must.

Beeswax is is a well-known naturally sourced wax that works exceptionally well for candles generally. But, it has strong, natural aroma which doesn't mix well when mixed with different scents. And, most importantly, beeswax is created by bees (obviously) and is a candle manufacturer that is vegan, that's out of the question.

Lastly lastly, there is the coconut oil. Apart from the high price tag, it's challenging to obtain 100% pure coconut. This is mostly due to the softness of coconut wax. Since it has such a lower melting point many coconut waxes blend, including one of the waxes mentioned above. While this in itself isn't a problem because of its lack of transparency of manufacturers and the jargon they employ, it's almost impossible to determine which waxes are mixed, or even whether they're mixed at all in the first place. We want to guarantee a pure, vegan, renewable, and ethical candle, so we have chosen to make use of soy wax.

We don't stop there. We use soy wax to make a safe and renewable candle. We also use a lead-free and zinc-free cotton wick that is a non-toxic wick and easy to use, and requires less care than an wick made of wood. What else can we do to differentiate our candles? Our commitment to our beliefs extends all the way to the packaging. That's right; the packing peanuts we use are also biodegradable. in fact, all our packaging is recyclable. We also encourage our customers to reuse or recycle their candle vessels. We'll be going over some of our favourite ways to do that next month, so make sure to join candles vancouver our email newsletter to keep up-to-date.