I think I figured out Beanpod's formula (sort of)

[geekrunner]

I was in a Hallmark store looking for something nice for Mrs. geek, when I stumbled upon some Beanpod candles. They looked nice, smelled good. As I picked one up, I could tell the wax was loose in the jar. I shook it and it rattled around. It was not adhering at all in the jar.

Knowing what I know, I thougt to myself, this sure looks like a parasoy. Of course, the candle hangtag said "Made from 100% soy wax." Further inspection indicated that they used "Stabilized Soy" and their patented Tempacure process. How can a 100% soy wax candle look and behave like that??

Now, knowing how certain politicians love to parse their words, I began to examine the phrase "Made from 100% soy wax." Wouldn't it be possible for a candle to be made from 100% soy wax and still not be a 100% soy wax candle? That is, one could blend 100% soy wax with 100% paraffin (perhaps in a 70/30 configuration ) to create a candle that looks, burns, and smells just like a Beanpod candle but yet still could legally include the phrase "Made from 100% soy wax"?

Now, maybe my tinfoil hat is on a little too tight, and maybe this has been all discussed before, but what do you all think? It sure looks like to me that Beanpod's "Stabilized Soy" is stabilized with paraffin! Am I behind the curve here?

geek :undecided

[Hillary]

Wow, interesting observation. Sounds very likely to me. I mean it's all in the wording. If they don't say "100% soy wax" but "made from/with", that could be very misleading. Gotta go look at their website now....

They say it is not a soy-paraffin blend, but a 100% stabilized soy wax. But I can't see anywhere that they explain what "stabilized" means. Hhhmmmm.......

[Meridith]

You might be on to something Geek.

[Candle Makin Momma]

So you are saying that they could say 100% soy wax, because that is one of the waxes they use? Like if I used 90% 100% soy wax and 10% paraffin, then I could say 100% soy wax on my label?

Hmmmm, not very honest, but people would be none the wiser. Well until Geek comes along! LMAO

[Kelly]

No but you could say "MADE from 100% soy wax."

Very Tricksey!

[Henryk]

Thats interesting Geek. Never thought of that.

I know one company that makes and sells candles, they are labeled soy, but since they also sell wax and supples, they have no problem telling me what they use - the wax was not 100% soy - it was a wax blend by one of the big companies. (Mostly soy).

Guess its a legal question.

[Mei-Mei]

That's a very good observation. If I made a really delicious chocolate cake I could say, "made from real cocoa beans" but that doesn't preclude my using cocoa powder or artificial flavoring. I think you hit the nail right on the head.

[lsbennis]

hmmm...interesting observation Geek...I have never seen a Beanpod candle before but now I'm going to go to their site and order one just to see what it looks like. Saying that your product is "made from" is not really disclosing all the ingredients. However I have noticed that some soy waxes like CB Advanced will act and look like there is paraffin in it so I wonder what it is they are using as a stabalizer? :undecided

[topofmurrayhill]

My understanding is that soy wax is technically 51% or more shortening.

I don't think many of the bigger brands would want to chance making fuglies or having their inventory deteriorate after production, but Er'go does seem to claim to use 100% shortening or at least 100% vegetable ingredients.

They apparently get better results by leaving out dye and curing amidst loving soul vibrations.

We love each other and we love what we do. Our intent is to transfer this love and peace through our products to those that receive them throughout the world. It brings us great joy knowing that we, in our own small way, are helping to raise the vibration upon this earth. We create from the soul for the soul.

[TxSioux]

After 7 yrs in advertising I can guarantee you it all comes down to wording & how to best manipulate what is said ... or what the public thinks is being said! Here's one that might make your head spin: US labeling laws state that a candle can be labeled as beeswax as long as it contains 10% beeswax. So, a candle can be 90% paraffin wax & 10% beeswax, but you can label that candle as a beeswax candle. Unless you see 100% beeswax or pure beeswax you're probably not be getting what you think. I've searched high & low for soy requirements, but can't find anything. Tricky stuff, huh?

Susan.

[Amish Ragdoll]

Going from what I've researched, Beanpod is Enchanted Lights. They have the same physical address and fragrances. The "stablized soy wax" is merely the veggie modifier offered by EL.

[prestopotwaxmelter.com]

According to the Iowa Soybean Board a "soy candle" only needs to be 70% soy. There is an official like agreement that a manufacturer can sign. I copied and pasted a snippet of the agreement here. It looks like there is some wiggle room when it comes to making a soy candle.

THEREFORE IT IS AGREED:

1. “Genuine Soy Candles ” describes a candle made with no less than 70% volume virgin soybean oil (hydrogenated) or soy methyl ester. Company by its signature below certifies that all of its products sold as “Genuine Soy Candles” do in fact and will during the term hereof meet this requirement.

2. Company agrees to notify ISPB in writing of any change in soy candle wax

suppliers within thirty day of such change. ISPB will not publicly disclose

Company’s soy candle wax supplier.

3. To assure compliance with this Agreement, Company agrees to submit to ISPB upon its request, a representative sample of its Genuine Soy Candles to verify the 70% by volume requirement. ISPB reserves the right to have these candles tested by an ISPB-designated third party at Company expense to verify the 70% requirement.

4. Company also acknowledges ISPB’s right to have tested at Company expense any of the Company’s Genuine Soy Candles purchased at random on the open market.

5. ISPB hereby grants Company permission to use its Genuine Soy Candles Materials in connection with Company marketing of its Genuine Soy Candles.

6. ISPB will designate Company as a Genuine Soy Candle manufacturer on an ISPB sponsored website, and as appropriate in its Genuine Soy Candle promotional Materials.

7. Term and Termination:

a. Automatic Renewal: This Agreement shall continue until December 31,

2004. The Agreement shall renew automatically thereafter for a new calendar

year, unless Company before said termination date receives from ISPB a

non-renewal notice.

b. Termination Without Cause: Alternatively, either party may terminate this

Agreement without cause upon thirty days notice to the other.

[NoOneSpecial]

Going from what I've researched, Beanpod is Enchanted Lights. They have the same physical address and fragrances. The "stablized soy wax" is merely the veggie modifier offered by EL.

This is my observation as well. Bean Pod and EL are one in the same and share the same facilities. They are using EL wax without paraffin. I outsource some of their unscented candles and trust me, I asked.

[lsbennis]

I wonder if they use the Millenium Blend for their candles? I have tried it and got a ton of frost and wet spots so they must be putting something else in there with it!

[Candle Makin Momma]

I tried EL and it was horrible! It frosted completely over and was all chunky on top after the first burn.

[NoOneSpecial]

I wonder if they use the Millenium Blend for their candles? I have tried it and got a ton of frost and wet spots so they must be putting something else in there with it!

I use the Millenium Blend and I don't have those problems at all. The only time I experience wet spots is when the temperature drops. My Millenium Blend does not frost at all and the colors are beautiful and the tops are smooth.

[Amish Ragdoll]

I wonder if they use the Millenium Blend for their candles? I have tried it and got a ton of frost and wet spots so they must be putting something else in there with it!

The frosting is eliminated by a combination of the veggie modifier and their Tempacure process.

Here are some threads about tempering the wax:

Go to post #174 http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18739&highlight=temper

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4547&highlight=temper

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showpost.php?p=376472&postcount=4

http://www.candletech.com/forums/search.php?searchid=370775

[chris77]

funny this thread should start....was in Halmark yesterday looking at beanpod candles myself. The literature I read there said that it was made with 100% soy wax.....it also said that they did not use any paraffin in the candles. They have to be adding something...or many somethings....but they could not use paraffin without getting into legal troubles since they claim that they don't use it.

http://www.beanpodcandle.com/beanpodstory.asp

You’ve experienced many different candles. But when you light Beanpod Candles™, you’ll discover a distinct difference. 100% stabilized soy wax. Not the so-called ‘soy’ candle that is actually a soy and paraffin blend. Just real soy wax. That’s simply wonderful.

Earth friendly. Beanpod Candles are made from 100% stabilized soy wax so you can be sure there won’t ever be any petroleum-paraffin by-products in our wax

Those quotes are from the website....would like to know how they make them though!

Chris

[KMommy]

I've wondered this same thing about another one of the other "big guys" that sells a soy candle. After looking at the candle it didn't appear to be 100% soy. It is indeed all in the wording! Here is an example. DH brought home a skin cream that was being sold for $4.00 1/2oz. It is labeled as Emu Cream but here is what is written on the label "Contains over 40 ingredients that have overlapping qualities to help stop pain, including Emu oil." The label list only 6 ingredients and the listing starts off with "includes...." So some place in the mix is a tiny bit of Emu Oil and the product suddenly becomes Emu Cream.

There was another candle manufactor that had a "soy" candle and from my experience with soy and palm that wax may have contained a bit of soy but it was mainly palm. Nothing wrong with palm but I thought it was dishonest to label it as soy and lead the customer to believe that it was a soy candle when it was indeed palm. It's all in the wording and marketing!

Thanks for pointing that out Geek!

[katinka]

What an interesting discussion. Following on from this, something I have been wondering about is the additives in soy wax, like vybar for example. I am sure that most waxes, be it soy or paraffin use binding ingredients to increase the fragrance the wax can hold etc. If you were to say "made with 100% pure soy wax" what about these ingredients and the so-called botanical oils some suppliers include in their wax formulations? I think it would be very difficult to have a "100% pure soy wax candle", if you ask me... It is a question I have been struggeling a bit with because for a long time I planned to do a 100% natural candle line for one of our big retail outlets here and I have come to the conclusion that you have to be VERY careful with the claims you make and the wording you use.

Thanks for the info - it has certainly clarified alot for me!

Katinka

[Stella1952]

100% soy means that the oil used is 100% soy. The additives used to stabilize and enhance other desirable properties are never listed - those are trade secrets. The tempering process is the real secret there... there is a thread about tempering chocolate that explains this process... Tempering soy increases the creamy, velvety smoothness of soy.

Now as for BS - "100% natural" is the one that gags me with an entire place setting... unless an ingredient is from Alpha Centauri, EVERYTHING on earth is 100% natural! The implication is that somehow 100% natural means it is more pure, more safe... Well, ricin is 100% natural but it'll kill you in a heartbeat! Black mold is 100% natural but you sure don't want it in your air conditioning ducts! Over-the-counter menopause herbal preparations containing black kohash will harm folks with thyroid problems, as it impedes uptake of thyroxin - but hey! it's 100% natural... :rolleyes2

Caveat emptor, y'all!

[lsbennis]

This Tempering process sure does sound like a lot of extra work to make a candle...how can they do this and keep their production cost down? Is it really worth it?

[Stella1952]

I don't know if we temper the same way that a large operation would... It only takes a couple of extra minutes in the process, but it SURE makes a big difference in the tops and consistancy of the soy wax - MUCH smoother.

[kari357]

I also was thinking along your train of thought. I've used many straight soy brands and a few parasoy blends and Beanpod seems to look and act more like a blend. I wonder if there's somewhere to send a sample of their wax to be analyzed.

[geekrunner]

I received word from one of my anonymous sources that Beanpod does use a soy blend, but it does not have any paraffin in it. One ingredient is believed to be butyl stearate, which also goes by stearic acid. That ingredient is not commonly used in soy wax, but is primarily used (by crafters) in paraffin to increase opacity in molded pillar candles.

Hmmm, maybe I will try a little to see if it helps any with frosting.

geek