Let’s start with what our candles are. Our non-toxic candles are ethically produced in small batches using sustainable ingredients and packaging. All of our candles are cruelty-free, vegan, and made without the use of parabens, phthalates, petroleum, or carcinogenic components. Since pouring our very first candle, we have been committed to only using the highest quality fragrance and essential oils available on the market. We also use 100% soy wax which is harvested from sustainable crops in the USA. But what is soy wax, and why does it matter?
Soy wax
Soy wax is derived from soybeans. They do this by taking cleaned, cracked, dehulled soybeans and rolling them into flakes. At this point, the oil can be extracted and hydrogenated. As a bonus, the leftover flakes can be used for animal feed! This process alters the melting point making it solid at room temperature and perfect for candles. If being natural, renewable, biodegradable, and vegan weren’t enough, soy wax generally has the longest burn time and has no indoor air pollution.
What about other waxes?
Well, there are three other waxes commonly used in candles, these are: paraffin wax, beeswax, and coconut wax. Let’s talk about them.
Paraffin Wax
Paraffin wax has been, arguably, the most used wax for candles especially scented candles, because it has a great scent throw. So, why are more and more companies turning to alternate waxes? Because it’s not renewable! Paraffin wax comes from petroleum, coal, or oil and is a carcinogen! We care about the environment, and our customer’s health at Brand & Iron, so renewable, sustainable, and ethically sourced ingredients are a must.
Beeswax
Beeswax is a popular naturally sourced wax that works very well for candles in general. However, beeswax has a strong natural scent, which doesn’t always mix well with other scents. But more importantly, beeswax is made by bees, and as a vegan candle company, using beeswax doesn't align with our ethos.
Beeswax is often used as a natural alternative to petroleum-based products, but bees need their own beeswax. It molds easily, quickly, and is cheap compared to other plant base waxes. Unfortunately, at factory or large bee farms, it is not unusual for farmers to cut off the queen bee’s wings so that she cannot leave the colony, or to have her artificially inseminated so the bee colony continue to produce endless amounts of wax.
We love beeswax from our small, local bee farmers! But have chosen not to use it as the base of our candles as part of our commitment to cruelty-free products.
Coconut wax
Lastly is coconut wax. Aside from the hefty price tag, it’s challenging to get genuinely pure coconut wax. This is primarily because of how soft coconut wax is. Because it has such a low melting point, most coconut waxes are a blend, including one of the waxes mentioned above. This in itself may not seem like a problem, but due to the lack of transparency from manufacturers and the tricky language they use, it’s nearly impossible to know what the wax is mixed with, and and what percentages. This can result in uneven and unsafe burning, lack of quality control, and unpredictable hot and cold scent throw just to name a few potential issues. We want to guarantee a pure, vegan, renewable, and ethical candle, so we choose to use soy wax.
We don’t stop at using soy wax to make a safe and renewable candle. We use a non-toxic, lead and zinc-free cotton wick; this wick is also easy to use because it curls and self-trims, therefore requiring less maintenance than a wooden wick.
What else makes our candles different? We take our values right down to the packaging. That’s right; even our packing peanuts are biodegradable; in fact, all our packing is recyclable. We also love to encourage our customers to reuse or recycle empty candle vessels. Send us a picture of your repurposed vessel to be featured on our social media!