NaturallyTru Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Is there such thing as organic soy? If so, where can you buy it?There is someone in my area that is offering "organic" soy candles and I was just curious if it is possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caryfh Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 I would have to dig deeper to see the exact regulation for organic. While I'm sure that there are organic soybean farmers out there, it seems as though they would more be using their crops for food purposes as opposed to creation of soy wax. Also, I would wonder whether the processing (hydrogenation) that occurs to convert the oil into a wax flake would remove the ability to consider it organic. Might be a question that could be answered by USDA.gov as I think that's where I've looked up info regarding organic claims in the past. Sorry I don't have a clear cut answer for this one. Hoping someone will weigh in that does know the regulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetsCandles Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 http://www.candlescience.com/faq/28/soy-wax/are-there-any-organic-or-non-gmo-soy-waxes/ Candle Science says no. 4 companies in the USA supply the soy wax here and they are 98% either GMO or Non Organically farmed. And in the certification process for organics (from the USDA) either it has to be purely organic, or labeled as "made with organic ingredients" on the food front. I know for food and things like essential oils and such, the producers, manufacturers and other handlers of the products, they cannot claim it to be organic unless a certain percentage is truly organic and they get certification from the USDA for the product. However, I don't know if the laws regulating that would actually extend to soy wax, unless it is being potentially used as a cosmetic or a type of lotion candle. Either the USDA hasn't caught up to it with how the laws read, or these folks (and there are a LOT of them) are still skating under the radar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjdaines Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Here's a thought, paraffin wax is organic; it's not GMO and no pesticides were used in it production. Not sure how sustainable it is. Remember that both soy oil and crude oil undergo significant chemical refinement to become wax. While the original plants/organisms that were grown to create the oil may have been "organic", the changing of that oil into wax is hardly earth friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candlebug Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 When you add a fragrance oil that is a chemically synthetic compound, how can it be called "organic"? Also, doesn't the USDA have to certified anything organic and then you can use the word? Just asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjdaines Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Seems to me the only thing one can do is to by a wax made from soy oil extracted from Organically grown soy plants. Trying to make a candle "vegan" is a stretch. What about the wicks, organic cotton, or organic paper? Using hemp wicks that are organically grown? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaturallyTru Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 Thank you. You all are repeating my thoughts on the issue. Insight into my competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakuraserra Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 When you add a fragrance oil that is a chemically synthetic compound, how can it be called "organic"? Also, doesn't the USDA have to certified anything organic and then you can use the word? Just asking.The answer is a big yes in order to be recognized as officially organic they do need the label. The purpose of providing the seal is because anybody can label something organic, so to make sure there are standards in place this is best. I wouldn't trust just anyone with the words organic on a label without the usda label as much as I trust products that claim they are 'all natural' (btw to label all natural only 3% of the product needs to be natural to use that title). Tho my local farmers market there are a lot of farmers who can't afford to go through certification process (it's not cheap) so all I can do is take their word for it that they practice organic farming. But I trust my local farmer over any commercial manufacturer that doesn't have the seal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakuraserra Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Here's a thought, paraffin wax is organic; it's not GMO and no pesticides were used in it production. Not sure how sustainable it is. Remember that both soy oil and crude oil undergo significant chemical refinement to become wax. While the original plants/organisms that were grown to create the oil may have been "organic", the changing of that oil into wax is hardly earth friendly.You bring up a very good point, this brings a lot of pondering I must do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 As far as I know there are no certified organic soy waxes available. This question has come up before and those that tried never found it. If it were to ever be available I'm sure someone would post about such a miracle and who the supplier carrying it is.Its always been a wonder to me that some candle makers claim their soy candles are "organic."Its my guess that some think that if its an all soy wax that means its organic as opposed to a blended soy wax with additives.I think people forget too that paraffin comes from petroleum which comes from deposits in the earth of fossilized plants. Just because its a dark black color does not mean its less 'organic' than soybeans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjdaines Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 People are trying to differentiate their candles from other folks, so words like "natural", "organic", etc. get thrown around like rice at a wedding. Not many people know what they are talking about in these areas but it guess it makes sales. Bottom line is the only natural wax readily available is bees wax, everything else is man made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakuraserra Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 People are trying to differentiate their candles from other folks, so words like "natural", "organic", etc. get thrown around like rice at a wedding. Not many people know what they are talking about in these areas but it guess it makes sales. Bottom line is the only natural wax readily available is bees wax, everything else is man made.Agreed, there's nothing natural about the process that it takes to create wax. It's all mostly a sales ploy or a way to make their product sound nicer. Like bamboo fabric, I know it's been a big thing for people to think that is such a fantastic for the environment because of how quickly it takes for bamboo to mature (only 3 years) when in reality the process to turn that plant into a fabric is not exactly the best for the environment. Anyhow, the best thing for anyone to do is to do your research before "buying" into the next new thing, which is what we are doing here now and keep and open mind. This forum definitely opened me up about a lot of misconceptions. So thanks to all who have researched and those who are currently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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