"Organic" Candle Wax?

[Peggy T]

A customer bought one of my candles (464 & coco 83 blend) for who daughter who has a newborn baby. The daughter wants to know if the wax is organic. It's not, and I will tell her that but I don't think that's really her question. What I'm sure she's really asking is, "is this safe to have around my baby?" It's her first kid.  I'd like to be able to respond with something a bit more useful that no, it's not organic. For one thing, I don't know if you can even GET organic wax. And then with the additives, fragrance oil etc, I seriously doubt ANY candle is truly organic. In over 10 years of making candles, I've never had someone ask if my candle is organic. So I guess my question is: if someone asked you if your candle is organic or if it was safe to be around babies, what would you say?

Thanks

[bfroberts]

You know, the unfortunate thing about questions like that is they are nearly impossible to answer truthfully and still tell the customer what they want to hear. There are so many blatant lies out there about candles, FO's and waxes, she can easily find someone touting their candles as 100% natural/organic/whatever.   What I would say in this case is that you use plant based waxes and non-toxic fragrances formulated for candles. You can also offer to provide safety data if she wants, but in my experience, they never take me up on that particular offer.

I'm sure someone can offer a better answer than I did, so hopefully that someone else will chime in.

[Lizzy]

no such thing as organic wax....those who claim their wax is organic have not done their research on how a "natural" wax is processed from start to finish

[Candlefriends]

I would say you use the "cleanest" materials that the industry has to offer and that you don't make anything you don't feel comfortable burning in your own home.

Keep it basic unfortunately, some suppliers and manufacturers are not as transparent as we would like them to be and changes happen often. Anyone remember the Coco83 paraffin fiasco a few months back 🙄.

 

You can offer more in depth information if they would like it. 

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by Candlefriends

[NightLight]

There is no organic soy wax. Beeswax plain is probs the safest. Unscented.

[birdcharm]

I can understand if someone wants to try to support organic products, but what does this have to do with burning a candle?  I'm not understanding why this question is being asked by the consumer in the way it is, which in turn would make it very difficult to answer.  How is a non-organic wax really going to affect the way it burns or the air quality?  And, if it does have some effect, does it make such a great difference in indoor air quality that it warrants being a consideration?

 

On another note regarding products around children ... so commonly used ... baby oil (mineral oil) with fragrance added and petroleum jelly!

[Peggy T]

Thanks everyone for the helpful feedback on how to reply. I think a lot of her hesitation is related to being a nervous, first-time mom. I was certainly that way when I had my first child 800 years ago. 😂 This is probably one of those instances where Google does not help allay any worries. I will incorporate some of y’all’s suggestions into my email response.