Who doesn’t love a good candle?! But did you know that the majority of candles are made out of paraffin – an extremely toxic sludge that is derived from petroleum?! Yeah, it’s not something I want in my house either and is why I am thrilled to have found a natural and affordable alternative!
Keep reading to learn more…
For Moms and Moms-To-Be*
THE PRODUCTS:
GoodLight is the answer to your typical paraffin-based candle. Made with all-natural palm wax, which is both vegan and non-GMO, their wicks are made from pure cotton, the scents are comprised of essential and botanical oils, and all dyes used (for their multi-colored birthday and Chanukah candles, in particular) are non-toxic Bekro dyes.
Available in scents like Citronella, Fig-Grapefruit, Lavendar, and Lemongrass Cassia, among others, GoodLight is originally known for their line of unscented candles, which like the scented varieties, come in a number of sizes, including: tea lights, votives, pillars, tins and even Holiday ones for Chanukah and Birthdays, as mentioned above.
HEALTH-WISE:
So what is paraffin? According to GoodLight’s website: paraffin is basically the “bottom of the barrel” petroleum sludge that remains in oil refineries once every other product (i.e. jet fuel, gasoline, motor oil) has been extracted. It’s a combustible waste material that is the primary ingredient for more than 90% of the world’s candles.
“And while it might seem obvious to some, many people don’t realize that inhaling the fumes from paraffin candles is not good for your health. According to a study done at South Carolina State University in 2009, the chemicals found in the fumes of paraffin candles are linked to cancer, birth defects, and such respiratory ailments as asthma––especially when there are many of them burning in enclosed, unventilated spaces like restaurants, churches, or a room in your home.
“After it’s scraped out of oil refineries, paraffin wax is usually: bleached by adding dioxin; texturized with acrolyn (a known carcinogen); and then mixed with animal-based stearic acid (a nasty byproduct of the meatpacking slaughterhouses) to harden it so that it can be made into candles. When paraffin candles burn, they emit black soot and toxic fumes—similar in chemistry to diesel exhaust—containing poisonous chemicals such as benzene, toluene, naphthalene, tri-decane, tetra-decane, penta-decane, and hexadecane. Unfortunately, the FDA doesn’t require candle makers to list the ingredients in candles, so you never really know what you’re burning and breathing.”
And this is why buying non-paraffin based candles should really be a priority!
THE COMPANY:
GoodLight was started by David and his good friend Jon. They met each other in Telluride, Colorado, where they had both moved after college in the early 90’s. Like a lot of folks in Telluride back then, they were tree-hugging hippie ski bums. Jon was hand-dipping beeswax tapers in his home studio and selling them locally when David first met him. Before long, though, Jon’s operation grew into Bluecorn Naturals, now the country’s premier source of beeswax candles.
In 2005, David went to Manhattan for a month to work with Jon at his Bluecorn retail booth in the Union Square Holiday Market. It was at this point that Jon told David of his vision to develop an affordable, non-toxic candle to replace the paraffin votives burning on the tables of New York’s restaurants—and everywhere else for that matter. (Although Bluecorn’s candles are all natural and non-toxic, beeswax is too expensive to compete on a mass scale with the much cheaper paraffin—so the key was in the word affordable.) For the next few years, Jon and David worked together to develop Jon’s idea into reality, and in April of 2010 they launched GoodLight Natural Candles.
Once GoodLight really took off, John’s wife Sarah joined the company, allowing Jon to go back to tending Bluecorn full-time. Sarah and David now run GoodLight’s operations out of their office in San Francisco.
GoodLight Gives Back:
GoodLight is proud to be a contributing member of 1% For The Planet, a U.S. non-profit founded by Patagonia’s Yvonne Chouinard in 2002 that oversees the distribution of millions of dollars to other approved non-profit organizations around the world. Since their first year in business, GoodLight has donated 1% of all of their annual gross sales—not just the profits—to organizations combating global warming and climate change, namely the Orangutan Land Trust and Carbonfund.org.
Learn more about 1% For the Planet and their good work by visiting onepercentfortheplanet.org.
WHERE TO BUY:
You can purchase GoodLight Natural Candles directly from their website, or to find the retail location nearest you, please visit their Store Locator.
THE PRICES:
- 24-Pack of Unscented Tea Lights – $7.99
- Small 2oz Travel Tin – $4.99
- Large 6oz Travel Tin – $9.99
- Birthday Candles (4 different colors) – $2.99
*Check out their website for additional sizes and prices.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Whether you are looking for a single scented candle, or a 100-pack of tea lights, GoodLight Natural Candles are the first eco-friendly, non-toxic alternative to the big plastic bags of paraffin tea lights found at big box stores. And I’ll admit, before I knew better, I was a frequent customer of these little toxic lights as well. It’s nice to finally have a clean candlelight that is affordable!
So whether you’re looking for a Citronella candle to deter pesky mosquitos, a Lavender aromatherapy candle used for its relaxing properties before bed (it is National Sleep Month after all J), or a simple array of tea lights to help create that warm and cozy atmosphere that instantly soothes us [moms] :), then you should definitely check out GoodLight Natural Candles. Because it’s those small steps that make healthy living a lifestyle – so why not take one today!
For more information about GoodLight Natural Candles, please visit their website and check them out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
And don’t forget to CONTACT Healthy Fit Fab Moms today to learn how we can help you and your family live a healthy, fit, and fabulous life! Please LIKE us on Facebook and FOLLOW us on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to stay connected as well!
