How to Tell If a Candle Is Eco-Friendly
At Living Good Candle Co., we've noticed "eco-friendly" shows up on almost every candle label these days, often without any explanation. You'll see eco-friendly candles and environmentally friendly candles sitting next to words like "natural," "clean" and "non-toxic," sometimes all on the same product. Those words aren't interchangeable, and none of them tells you much on its own.
So here's what we'd rather do. We'll walk you through how to tell if a candle is eco-friendly, show you exactly what goes into ours, and let you decide if it's enough.
Are Candles Eco-Friendly? What the Label Really Means
"Eco-friendly" isn't a certification. There's no single standard a candle has to meet before a brand can print it on a label.
For a candle, the word usually points to a few separate things: what the wax is made of, how it's scented, what the wick is made of, and what happens to the container once the candle is gone. A candle can do well on one of these and say nothing about the rest. A wax can be renewable and come in packaging that isn't. A jar can be reusable and hold a wax that took a lot of processing to make.
It's also worth saying plainly that natural and eco-friendly aren't the same thing. A wax can occur in nature and still have a real footprint, depending on how it's produced, processed and shipped. None of this makes any one candle bad. It just means the label alone won't give you the answer.
Eco-Friendly Candles vs Environmentally Friendly Candles: Is There a Difference?
Not really. Both phrases get used the same way on candle labels, and neither one is a certification. The same goes for "environmental candles" or "earth-friendly candles." Whatever the wording, the questions below are the ones worth asking.
How to Tell If a Candle Is Eco-Friendly: 5 Questions to Ask
1. What is the wax made of?
Start here, because wax is most of the candle. Paraffin is made from petroleum during the refining process. Soy wax comes from soybeans, and its footprint depends on how the soy is grown and processed. Beeswax is made by honeybees as they build their hive, and it can be filtered and poured with very little processing. If a label just says "wax blend," it's fair to ask what's in the blend. Our guide to beeswax vs soy vs paraffin goes deeper.
2. How is it scented?
Look for a brand that tells you what it uses for scent, not just "fragrance." We scent our candles with plant-based oils, and we've written about what gives a beeswax candle its scent if you want the details.
3. What is the wick made of?
The wick is small, but it's part of the candle too. Ours are cotton, lead-free and zinc-free, and they've come from the same supplier since day one. If you're curious how wicks differ, here's what candle wicks are made of.
4. What happens to the jar when you're done?
A container that gets a second life makes a real difference. Check whether the jar is sturdy enough to reuse and easy to clean. Our guide on how to reuse candle jars covers cleaning, repurposing and refilling.
5. Can you refill it?
Refilling is the simplest way to make one jar last. Instead of buying a new candle, jar included, every time, you pour fresh wax into the jar you already own. Our beeswax candle kit guide walks through what's inside a kit and how to choose one.
What Living Good Candles Are Made Of
Here's our own answer to those questions. Our candles are made with American beeswax and coconut oil, scented with plant-based oils, and burned on cotton wicks.
Our beeswax comes from American beekeepers. Bees make it as a natural part of building their hives, and it needs very little processing before it's ready to pour. That's not a claim that beeswax has zero environmental impact. Nothing does. It's just the most straightforward wax we know of, and that mattered to us when we started this company.
If you'd like to see how this lines up with other label words, our Non-Toxic Candles guide takes a closer look at the ingredients and claims worth checking.
Buying Less, But Better
Part of thinking about a candle's impact is thinking past the single purchase. Our jars are made to be used again, especially our 15 oz jar. Once the candle is finished, you can wash it out for desk storage, bathroom essentials or a few stems, or refill it with one of our candle refill kits.
Refill kits mean fewer jars made and fewer jars thrown away. We're not going to pretend this solves everything. But buying one well-made jar and refilling it is a different habit than buying a new candle every time. Curious how long each size lasts between refills? Here's how long beeswax candles burn.
What We're Still Working On
We don't have every detail of our supply chain mapped out publicly yet, and we'd rather tell you that than imply we do. What we can stand behind today is real: American beeswax, coconut oil, plant-based oils, cotton wicks, and jars made to be used again. As we firm up more of the details behind the scenes, we'll share them here.
A Few Common Questions
Are candles biodegradable?
It depends on the wax. Beeswax is a natural material made by honeybees, and natural waxes like it break down over time. How fast any material breaks down depends on where it ends up, and in a landfill, most things break down very slowly. That's one reason we put so much focus on reusing the jar.
Are soy candles more eco-friendly than beeswax?
Neither is automatically the better choice. Soy wax and beeswax are both renewable, and how either one compares depends on how it's produced and how the brand sources it. We chose beeswax because it comes straight from the hive with very little processing.
Does a candle's environmental impact really matter that much?
On its own, probably not dramatically. But small, repeated choices add up, and we'd rather you make an informed one. That's really the point of this whole article.
Where to Start
American beeswax, plant-based oils and jars made to be used more than once. That's what we can stand behind today. Browse our 1 Wick Candles and 3 Wick Candles, and if you'd like to try refilling a jar, our eco candle making kit is a good place to start.
