Greening The Glow Of Your Candlelight

If you're like me, candles have become a permanent fixture in your household since the beginning of time. Personally, I can't even remember when they became a trend -- all I know is that they're always there for me like a good bar of chocolate, ready willing and able to take the edge off of a hectic day. (What? Can't dudes be fans of high-quality dark chocolate without getting an eye roll?) Girlie-girls are traditionally the greatest fan base, but it's been scientifically proven that legions of frat boys, suits and other assorted males (ahem, myself included) like to chill out with their pretty-smelling candles, too. Hey, there's nothing wrong with getting in touch with your feminine side. When you think of relaxation, it's hard to imagine a bubble bath and case of red wine being fully complete without the soft flicker of candlelight in the vicinity. More than a trend, it's probably safe to say that candles are a lifestyle accessory that has crossed all demographics and will continue to be one of life's small but welcome indulgences.

Since I continue doing what I can to live a greener lifestyle, it's hard to ignore the whispers in the background that keep scolding me for lighting my tried-and-true candles. What gives? My jars o' jasmine and pillars of harvest pumpkin have worked fine and dandy this whole time, thank you very much. Why are they now being singled out as environmental offenders on the order of plastic bags?? I finally decided to stop shrugging my shoulders and start taking action, so I did a little (make that a lot) of research and now things are clearer in my mind. My number one mistake was thinking that the jar candles that I've been burning are made of bees wax. That makes sense in theory, but it's a costly material and as everyone knows, bees are having a rough time out there in the wilderness. Natural beeswax supplies are depleted, and as with so many other products out there, manufacturers were intent on coming up with a cheap, plentiful alternative. Boy oh boy, did they ever -- it's called paraffin, and it is a by-product of the oil refining process. At this point in our history, all of us are conditioned to think OIL...BAD, but I bet the majority of us have been unaware that our seemingly innocuous candles are petroleum-based. I'll be the first one to admit that I had no clue until now. Peak oil concerns aside, this non-renewable petroleum-based material causes us to rely on foreign crude oil markets even more than we already do, and that is certainly what we should avoid at all costs.

Seriously though, did you realize that your simple little candle habit was causing so much pressure on our environment? Oh, and you haven't even heard the best part (hope you catch the sarcastic tone) --  they may smell really good, but they're actually a major contributing factor of most indoor air pollution. Aw jeeze, way to ruin one of my last remaining semi-affordable pleasures. Here's the deal -- burned paraffin generates smoke and soot, which seems like a little collateral damage in the grand scheme of things but imagine what kind of chemicals would be released into your air space if you burned diesel fuel in your living room. Um, that's what's happening. In addition to those particulates, our paraffin candles are also releasing carcinogenic toxins like formaldehyde, styrene, toluene, benzene, acrolein, acetaldehyde (and a whole bunch of other poison that I don't even want to pronounce) into our household environment. That would explain, at least in part, why indoor levels of air pollutants can be 2-5 times higher -- and often up to 100 times higher -- than outdoor levels.

So, the alternative that we now have is soy candles. Made from hydrogenated soybean oil, the stuff that is rendered from edamame plants, it seems like a pretty natural replacement. Soybeans are actually frozen at -30 degrees Fahrenheit in order to extrude the oil. Proponents of this more environmentally-friendly alternative say that since it is derived from an easily renewable resource and it helps the agricultural industry, that it is a good thing. I like that soy candles are made from a vegetable source, and the fact that they generally last 50% longer than petroleum-based candles is also a plus. Furthermore, they generate 90% less soot that conventional candles. What I don't like is that soybeans were one of the first bioengineered crops and to this day, they are among the top ones doused with pesticides. I wonder how that translates into cleaner, safer burning candles? I realize that they seem to be a safer alternative overall, aside from foregoing candlelight altogether, but I wonder if we could do better. Maybe organic soy candles would be better for our air quality? Also, I'd love to figure out what to do with the 57 different varieties of paraffin-based candles that I already own. It seems to go against my greenie ways to just throw them out. Any suggestions?