paraffin-free candles are our thing
Paraffin is a byproduct of petroleum, a non-renewable resource. And while it might seem obvious to some, many people don’t realize that inhaling the fumes from paraffin candles is not good for your health.
After it’s scraped out of oil refineries, paraffin wax is usually: bleached by adding dioxin; texturized with acrolyn (a known carcinogen); and then mixed with animal-based stearic acid (a nasty byproduct of the meatpacking slaughterhouses) to harden it so that it can be made into candles.
When paraffin candles burn, they emit black soot and toxic fumes—similar in chemistry to diesel exhaust—containing poisonous chemicals such as benzene, toluene, naphthalene, tri-decane, tetra-decane, penta-decane, and hexadecane. Unfortunately, the FDA doesn’t require candle makers to list the ingredients in candles, so you never really know what you’re burning and breathing.
While many conscious consumers have made the switch to candles made of palm wax or beeswax or soy wax, restaurants, churches, temples, etc. mostly burn paraffin candles or disposable paraffin oil cartridge lamps. There are two reasons for this: price and knowledge.
Regarding price, paraffin candles have historically been much cheaper than their non-toxic alternatives. But now there is GoodLight, and we offer discounts to restaurants and churches so that they can switch to clean-burning candles and only spend literally pennies more per candle.
The other reason--knowledge--is something you can help us with. Please help educate the managers and servers at your favorite restaurants, and the candle buyer at your church or temple, so that we can all breathe a little easier.
Want to know more? Check out these links...
South Carolina State University study on paraffin candles
Fox News article on SCSU study
MSNBC News article on SCSU study
German study on paraffin oil used in lamps
EPA report on candles as indoor air pollutants
Canadian EPA report on paraffin
European study on candles' effect on air quality in churches