Who doesn’t love to relax with a comforting scent and the warm glow of a flickering candle? We sure do. But for avid candle lovers, this seemingly relaxing habit could be a big culprit in diffusing toxins and chemicals into your air.

Unfortunately, most of the "non-toxic" candles we see being advertised today are heavy on the greenwashing and completely unregulated.

 

The Truth Behind Conventional Candles

You might not have noticed, but candles aren't required to have an ingredient label. Crazy, right? Ingredient labels are required for just about anything you put on your skin or ingest (as they should be), but when it comes to the air you're breathing in all day long, no label is required. This is because there are FDA loopholes around disclosing what makes up a fragrance, for the sake of keeping trade secrets. This is true not only for candles, but for any products containing fragrance. If a product doesn't show what's in a scent, you can assume it's not safe.

 

Fake Fragrances

The proprietary term "fragrance", or "parfum", protects a companies secret formula from having to disclose the synthetic chemicals that create the scent. Burning these chemicals can have horrible effects on your health, as well as the health of your family and pets. 

These formulas can contain up to 4,000 different chemicals, including: neurotoxins like formaldehyde, endocrine disruptors such as phthalates, numerous carcinogens, allergens, and many more harmful chemicals that we don't yet know the long-term effects of. More and more health professionals are now saying they believe fragrance to be the "new" secondhand smoke. 

 

Cheap Waxes 

→ Paraffin Wax

If the synthetic fragrances are worrisome, the rest of the candle isn't much better. While humans originally made candles from animal fats like tallow, and natural beeswax, most candles on store shelves today are petroleum-based paraffin waxes. An oil-industry by-product set on fire in your home, anyone? That may sound extreme, but burning these paraffin wax candles diffuses the same toxic fumes found in auto exhaust into your most precious spaces.

Not only is paraffin wax heavily processed to become a wax-like consistency, but it has to be bleached as well. If you've ever burned cheap, paraffin wax candles in your home, you'll notice they leave behind a black residue on your home surfaces, much like the toxic soot that discolors smoker's walls. 

 

→ Soy Wax

Soy wax has become a greenwashing success story in recent years. Many, many people have been fooled by this marketing trend because soy is natural, a green vegetable even! That must be healthy, right? But how does a soy bean become a wax-like substance? Heavy processing involving Hexane (another neurotoxin and hazardous air pollutant), bleaching, hardeners, and many additives and preservatives to keep that soy from spoiling.

There's also our soil to consider. Soy is one of the biggest monocrop industries in agriculture, and it’s causing key nutrients to be depleted from our soil. It is also one of the most genetically modified crops in the United States, as well as being heavily sprayed with pesticides and glyphosate. This means with each replanting of soy, we lose valuable minerals and vitamins that should naturally be present in our produce, while simultaneously poisoning our own food supply, air, and water. The healthiest soil comes from rotating crops, diverse plants, and animals grazing. 

 

Finding Healthy Candles

So are there any healthy candles out there? 

We've got you covered. We ditched the toxic candle industry to create truly natural, fragrance-free, toxin-free candles. We did this by prioritizing full transparency of our ingredients--meaning we control exactly what's in each candle we make. From our miracle ingredient, local Michigan beeswax, to the organic coconut oil, and our pure organic and wild harvested essential oil blends for scent, we share exactly what's in every candle. 

Our candles not only smell incredible, but they also have benefits to your well-being. After all, your lungs are a detox pathway, so lets take care of them. 

 

Candle Stork Toxin-Free Candles

Transparency is at the heart of everything we do at Candle Stork, because we believe you deserve to know exactly what's in the products you bring into your home. Especially products that diffuse into the air you breathe. We put a full ingredient label on every candle we pour; not because we are required to (we're not!) but to allow you to make an informed choice. So what makes up our truly toxin-free candles?

 

→ Beeswax 

We call it our miracle ingredient because it is a miracle of nature. Beeswax is made by honeybees and is a natural by-product of sealing their honeycombs to store honey. We source all of our beeswax from local (to us) Northern Michigan beekeepers to ensure that the bees are healthy and never harmed from over-harvesting.

Beeswax is the perfect natural wax for our candles because of it's high melting point, subtle honey scent, and its hypoallergenic qualities. It offers many more benefits and none of the harm of cheaper, conventional waxes.

 

Some more benefits of beeswax candles:

• Long lasting burn, because of the high melting point
• Does not require any processing or bleaching
• No additives or synthetic materials
• Thought to purify the air by emitting negative ions 
• Improves the air quality of your home
• Clean burning, leaving no soot
• Naturally sweet, honey scent from the hive
• Is hypoallergenic for those with sensitivities
• Emits the same light spectrum as the sun
• Is a renewable and sustainable resource
• Is biodegradable 
• Supports a healthy bee population, American farmers, our food chain, and the environment

 

 

→ Coconut Oil 

Beeswax on its own cannot hold essential oils, so we blend it with organic coconut oil to properly bind our ingredients for a long lasting, beautifully scented candle. 

 

Benefits of coconut oil:

• Purifies the air to remove dust, pollen, and allergens
• Naturally repels insects
• Has a high smoke/burn point
• Is certified organic
• Is sustainable + fair-trade sourced

 

 

→ Cotton Wicks 

A high quality and eco-friendly wick is an important part of ensuring a clean burning, toxin-free candle. Our wicks minimize common issues like mushrooming (the wick balling up at the end), soot, and smoke.

Our wicks are:

• Made of braided cotton
• Durable and rigid with a paper filament center
• Self-trimming and clean burning
• Lead free

To keep your air as clean as possible, remember to trim your wicks before each use, and extinguish the candle by submerging the wick in its own wax pool instead of blowing it out, as both these measures prevent smoke.

 

→ Essential Oils 

When we say we scent with essential oils, we mean pure essential oils only. There is a big difference between a candle that "contains essential oils", or an "essential oil-based fragrance" versus using only essential oils for scent. Having a few drops of essential oils with a slew of other toxic ingredients does not make a candle natural or healthy. Our ingredient list, which is clearly detailed on each of our products, ensures you know exactly what's in our candles.

Benefits of scenting with essential oils:

• emotional and medicinal benefits (aka aromatherapy)
• sustainably sourced and well documented 
• organic and wild harvested
• safe scenting; no synthetics
• contains the essence of the plant it's distilled or pressed from

 

Maybe the biggest benefit of Candle Stork candles is the peace of mind that comes with knowing your favorite scents are made only with safe, toxin-free, beneficial ingredients. You can breathe deep knowing our candles are safe for you and your family. 

With clean ingredients, complete transparency and carefully selected essential oil blends, we hope our candles help you to create beautiful moments in your nest, everyday.