This resource-intensive and linear monoculture model is quickly depleting what once seemed like the unlimited water bounty of the Ogalalla Aquifer in the Midwest 1. Here in the United States, 94% of soy agriculture is genetically modified to require increasingly large and increasingly unsustainable amounts of pesticides. There is also reason to be concerned about the toll of industrial, monoculture farming and the unhealthy amounts of pesticides and fertilizers used to grow soybeans en masse-and the contamination of drinking waters that occurs as a result. Environmentally-minded groups like the WWF have raised concerns about deforestation (mainly in South America) associated with increasing soy demand, and recent fires in the Amazon have been heavily linked to the soy and cattle farming industries. Soy wax doesn’t have ideal burn qualities it burns slowly, but it has trouble throwing scent and can also look unsightly with its characteristic crumbly texture.
This industry, led by agricultural giant Monsanto (now Bayer), yields a cheap wax. Soybean oil is a byproduct of the enormous soybean industry. But since paraffin wax is linked to the world’s most destructive industry, we sought to find a viable, higher-quality alternative.
After reading a lot of studies, on either side of this topic, we sense that paraffin candles are likely not a significant health hazard you would need to burn a lot of paraffin candles for them to cause you grave concern. But this study has been called into question by the National Candle Association, mainly because it was not published in a scientific journal. One 2009 study found that burning paraffin candles can release harmful chemicals such as toluene. All of this is good for the companies selling them, and not as good for those of us buying them.įurthermore, there is some discussion around whether there may be adverse health effects associated with burning paraffin candles at home. In addition, it is a notorious fast burner: the paraffin candle looks big on the store shelf (which makes us perceive it as having more value), but burning down faster makes us need to re-purchase sooner.
Paraffin wax may be low cost and known for its strong burning and scent properties, but as a product of the oil industry, it is the very definition of unsustainable.
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