I am often asked: Are your candles "all natural"?
Honestly, no. BUT hear me out because they are still safe:
The Wax:
I do use natural waxes - 100% soy, coconut, and beeswax. I use locally sourced beeswax as long as it is available from a sustainable source. I use ethically sourced suppliers for my soy and coconut waxes. I do not use paraffin wax or any other petroleum-based products.
The Wicks:
The wicks I use are 100% cotton braided with tiny paper fibers. They contain no metals - like zinc or lead.
The Jars:
I use primarily clear glass jars. While these jars may not be as "fun" or as "cute" as some of the brightly colored ones, I do this because this way I know there aren't any harmful paints or stains being heated and giving off any harmful chemicals or fumes.
I have played around with wooden dough bowls as these are very popular and offer a fun, natural look. My conflict in selling them currently is this: burning anything in a flammable container sounds like a REALLY dumb idea.
I know there are fire-resistant sprays you can use to make them "safer" but to be honest, I have not done much research into the safety of the ingredients in those. If I don't feel confident enough to burn a candle around my children and pets, then I am not going to sell that product for other people to burn around their loved ones. So IF you ever find that I am offering a wooden dough bowl candle, rest assured that I have found a clean, chemical-free way to make it safe to burn.
The Fragrance:
It depends on the specific candle.
I do make some unscented candles that are free of artificial fragrances but still offer the warm ambiance of a cozy candle. You may find my "Purify" candles that are unscented beeswax candles. Beeswax emits negative ions into the air when burned, so it is essentially the candle version of a Himalayan salt lamp.
My scented candles do use artificial fragrances. HOWEVER, all of the artificial fragrance oils I use are phthalate-free, paraben-free, California Prop-65 compliant, and IFRA-compliant. I choose to use these fragrance oils because they are formulated to be safe to burn in candles. Many people want candles that only use essential oils, however it is extremely important to note that NOT ALL ESSENTIAL OILS ARE SAFE TO BURN!
I'll say it louder for those in the back... JUST BECAUSE A CANDLE HAS NATURAL ESSENTIAL OILS DOES NOT MAKE IT SAFE TO BURN!
Also... it takes a significant amount of plant material to make a VERY small amount of essential oil, so that's really not a very environmentally friendly source of fragrance for a product we burn. Plus, a lot of the candles made with essential oils have zero hot throw, you can't even smell them when they are burning.
SO, the short answer? No, my candles are not "all natural"... but they are as clean as I can get them while still being able to safely burn and fill your home with the ambiance you were hoping for when you bought the darn thing in the first place. This may not be good enough for my super crunchy shoppers who only want the cleanest of the clean products in their home. I understand, and that is why I created the Purify candles.
As always, if you ever have questions about my products, PLEASE don't hesitate to reach out to me! You can email me at info@shopverdae.com OR message me on instagram: @shopverdae.