Did you know that the beautiful, flickering candles that grace your home are most likely made of fossil-fuel derived material? Some are even made from animal fats. You may have cut down on your carbon “footprint”, fossil fuel use, and even rid your diet of factory-farmed meats, but if you’re still burning fossil fuel candles, you’re not doing as much as you could to live “green”.
Candle lovers now have another great option: soy candles. They are made from natural soybeans. Soy wax is abundant due to it being a natural byproduct of soy food production. They are perfect for vegans and vegetarians because they are entirely plant-based. Vegans will appreciate their use and origins particularly because vegans, unlike vegetarians, cannot use traditional beeswax candles because they do not believe in using animal byproducts.
As a bonus, soy candles are also safe to use around children and pets, and they are completely biodegradable. Finally, emissions produced by burning soy oil based products are more environmentally friendly than emissions from fossil fuel burning. For all of these reasons, you can feel good about burning soil candles in your home.
If you’re wondering whether they have the same qualities of regular candles, don’t worry! In fact, soy candles burn readily and melt and burn just like paraffin-based candles. They can be produced in any color and scent, just like paraffin-based candles. Soy candles in votive, taper, jar, and other forms are also available.
Soy candles burn without making the black soot that regular candles can cause. You might not even be aware that your other candles are making this mess that is accumulating throughout your house. The air you breathe can even show signs of having these soot bits in it when you burn a regular wax candle.
People prefer sootless candles because they don’t produce sooty, carbon particles that are dangerous to the lungs and that also cause cleaning woes around the home. They are great to use near the bathtub, since you never have to worry about soot particles falling into the water.