Soy Candles

Thanks to one of my current, eco-conscious brides, (thanks, Darcy!) we recently brought in soy candles for a wedding. Although more expensive than regular candles, this couple was willing to pay a bit extra for them and the organic food they served their guests. The decor we created was eco-friendly as well, from sustainable silk fabric panels to organic flowers, and of course, the afore mentioned soy candles! (More on this couples' wedding in a future post)! Why soy?

Paraffin wax (the wax contained in most regular candles)is a heavy hydrocarbon that comes from crude oil. Paraffin waxes are produced by refining or separating the waxes out of crude mineral oils. Obtained from the ground, crude oil is a compositionally varied product, consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons. Another name for crude oil is fossil fuel. Crude oil is transported to refineries where it is refined into finished products by complex processes. (read more about this here )

Soy wax, on the other hand is made from vegetable matter. Soy wax is a vegetable wax made from the oil of soybeans. After harvesting, the beans are cleaned, cracked, de-hulled, and rolled into flakes. The oil is then extracted from the flakes and hydrogenated. The hydrogenation process converts some of the fatty acids in the oil from unsaturated to saturated. This process dramatically alters the melting point of the oil, making it a solid at room temperature. The leftover bean husks are commonly used as animal feed. The U.S. grows the vast majority of the world's soybeans, primarily in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.

A lot of information does mention that Soy candles emit no soot - while this is impossible, they do tend to emit a lot less, and the soot (often called white soot) that can not be seen, and certainly does not leave a mark on your candle holders or anything else.

Additionally, unlike wax, which is nearly impossible to remove out of containers (which means you or your florist/designer/ planner will likely throw away many of the votive holders they 'rented' to you.) The soy does not cling to the walls of the container, and literally just pops out of the container, allowing anyone to recycle and reuse those containers.

Since we are committed to be as green as possible at Bella, we are now going to carry these in our inventory, so that they are available to anyone. Every small step counts!

Daniela