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We all know petro-plastic has toxic implications, which is precisely why I first reduce, and then recycle all of the plastic with which I come into contact. I drink all of my water from glass bottles. Heck, I even drive my car on vegetable oil instead of petroleum fuel. If I am willing to go this far to become a conscious petroleum consumer, then why would I still be burning petroleum-based candles right in my own living room at home?

Paraffin is a byproduct of the petroleum refining process. This dark-gray sludge is further treated with toxic chemicals to bleach, color and scent it. Then it is sent off to well-intentioned consumers wanting to light their homes "naturally.” And don't we all just love the cozy smell of vanilla candles? Well, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air-chamber analysis has revealed “these neurotoxins and carcinogenic compounds in significant quantity in a random group of over 30 candles tested: acetone, benzene, butane, ethylbenzene, styrene, phenol and lead,” to name a few. That vanilla pillar doesn't smell so good any more, does it?

The good news is, there are many alternative wax candles out there—including palm, soy and beeswax—that when burned will not release carcinogens into the air. Let me give you the lowdown on these non-petroleum waxes so you can make an educated decision for your electricity-free home lighting. Not all non-petroleum waxes are created equal:

Soy Wax
Soy wax comes from a notorious, genetically modified crop saturated with pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals. The soy bean does not want to become wax too easily, so the oil is processed with hydrogen and nickel to hydrogenate the oil and turn it into a solid. The wax is still quite soft after all this processing and will not form pillar candles easily. If you own a soy pillar, it might have been combined with another wax—most likely paraffin. Also, soy wax candle products tend to be heavily colored and fragranced; it is hard to find a scent-free, unbleached soy candle. Although I consider soy wax a vegetable wax, I personally do not consider it natural.

Palm Oil Wax
Palm oil is not genetically modified, is carcinogen-free and is far easier to liberate into a waxy substance than soy. Palm oil wax is produced like most essential oils: the fruit berries are pressed for oil, which is then distilled. Unfortunately, between the health-and-beauty and health-food industries, palm oil has become in such high demand that Sinar Mas and United Plantations (suppliers to Nestlé and Unilever) are clearing Malaysia’s and Indonesia's rain forests at a rate that has reduced the populations of endangered wildlife, such as the Indonesian orangutan, by as much as 50% in recent years—all so they can plant more commercial palm fields.

The palm tree grows native in western Africa and mostly on small, family farms. It is currently more sustainable to source palm wax from western African locations; however with enough interest, I personally suspect that the same environmental catastrophe is likely to happen in Africa as it has in Southeast Asia. Palm wax is often bleached and deodorized before reaching a candle pourer, who may or may not use synthetic fragrances and dyes.

Beeswax
Beeswax is a no-brainer. It is the original wax. It looks like wax when it is formed and requires next-to-no processing to place a wick in the center of it for burning. I questioned a beeswax candlemaker about what processing is done to the wax. Her response: "We heat the capping so the honey and wax separate (the wax floats to the top). We drain the honey and then drain the wax. It hardens as usable wax. Later I put it in my wax melter. When liquid, I pour it into dipping pots and start dipping candles. The answer is nothing is done to the wax but heat."

The production of beeswax does not harm the environment and happens locally almost anywhere in the United States. Although beekeeping is normally a careful and sustainable art, some vegans feel it is unnatural to interfere with bees' lives and choose to exclude bee products from their lifestyle. Beeswax candles are most often unscented (because beeswax smells so luscious as is!) and are rarely dyed.

These are the ethical, environmental and health impacts of the production and use of non-petroleum candle waxes. These criteria have become the basis of my consumer purchase decisions recently. But they aren't everything. Next week I will discuss the other factors that make one candle a cleaner burn on the consciousness.

Go to Green Candles, Pt. 2: Rating Candles and Extending Burn Time
Go to Green Candles, Pt. 3: The Most Ecological Candle Wicks
Go to Green Candles, Pt. 4: How to Pour Candles from Saved Wax

Additional resources:
Destructive Legacy of Sumatra's Palm-Oil Plantations

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