The GoodLight™ tealight is my go-to candle. If you read my post on cleaning soot, you’ll know I used to burn paraffin wax candles regularly. I bought them at a local off price department store, all different scents and brands, and burned three or four at a time. The smell was terribly overpowering. I found out later that the reason they were so cheap was because they’re made from paraffin wax, which is a derived from petrochemicals, i.e. oil. I did however learn how to clean soot off my walls, and that their wooden tops can be used for coasters. So I got that going for me. But since I’ve stopped burning paraffin, I needed to find another wax type. Below I’ll be sharing my research, and the reasons why I’ve decided to go with The GoodLight™ sustainable palm wax tealight, and hopefully shed some light on your candle purchasing preferences 🕯️
Candle Styles
GoodLight candles come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Below is a list of the most common types which can be found at Unpacked Living, and most retailers who carry ethically sourced candles. Below are the most common types of candles most people burn.
- Tealight – The smallest candle on the list, tea lights are about 1.5″ wide by .5 ” tall, with a burn time of about 4 hours.
- Votive – Votives are usually about 1.5″ wide by 2″ to 3″ tall, and have a burn time of about 10-15 hours.
- Taper – Taper candles average at 10″ tall by 7/8″ wide, and have a burn time of roughly 7 hours.
- Pillars – Pillar candles can range in height, circumference and burn times dramatically, so you can buy what’s right for your needs. The average pillar is about 3″ wide by 6″ tall with a 60 to 80 hour burn time.
Palm Wax, Pros & Cons
All candle styles are available in different wax types, scents, shapes and sizes, so you can tailor them to your situation and needs. If you’ve smelled it, they’ve probably made a candle that smells like it. I’m assuming that most people are well informed on why using paraffin wax or petroleum based products is none of the buenos. So let’s take a look at the pros and cons of sustainable palm wax and why I’m choosing to burn it over other options.
Pros:
Palm wax is derived from the palm fruit of the oil palm tree, which makes it plant based, aka renewable. The oil palm tree is one of the most prolific producer of oil used for human consumption, and according to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF), in order to obtain the same amount of oil produced by the oil palm over other wax types, you would need 4 to 10 times the amount of land. That’s including soy, coconut, sunflower and rapeseed. That’s a lot of land to consume.
As well as being prolific producers, sustainable palm oil has allies who are environmentally focused. The RPSO is helping to make palm oil sustainable by certifying oil palm tree plantations who are using ethically sound methods. Some of the certificate criteria are: plantations must exist on land already growing oil palm trees. This means no slash and burn practices. Plantation owners must have the rights to use the land and growers must maintain the good health of the soil and water used.
Cons:
Burning palm wax isn’t the main concern with critics of the oil palm. The problem is how it’s harvested. They are more critical of the sustainable farming practices of palm oil.
Organizations like Green Peace and Ethical Consumer criticize the RSPO certification for not meeting their own (RSPO’s) standards. They’re important ones too. Protecting the endangered orangutan population and child labor laws to name a few. They’re also concerned that using certifications like the RSPO’s will green wash their products. All valid concerns.
Conclusion:
Standards are good to have, but I think organizations like Green Peace often fail to see that standards aren’t perfect. Rather they are codes of conduct that will hopefully be achieved in totality. If a company is only 10% compliant with a certification and your only other options are companies with a 0% compliancy, then asides from growing and processing your own palm wax, the 10% company is your best option.
If we stop criticizing each other for not being perfect and accept progress as the benchmark for our decision making, then I think we’ll all feel more empowered and confident in the choices we make, assuming we’ve done the research.
And shopping local helps me make these types of decisions. I started getting them from Unpacked Living which is a local, sustainable home goods store. And the owner, Sabina, has taken the time to research the products she carries. So, by supporting local I’m having the research on the products I’m purchasing done for me, by the shop owner I know and trust. That’s accountability.
Burning Basics
Regardless of which candles you chose to burn, here are a few suggestions to keep in mind while enjoying the ambiance of your serenely lit space.
Trim the Wick: Ideally your wick should be at about a 1/4″. The reason shorter wicks are better is due to the amount of wax that is being consumed. If your wick is 1/2″ long, then it holds twice as much wax as a 1/4″ wick does which is in direct contact with the flame, and therefore is being burned twice as quick. And a shorter wick also correlates to less soot being thrown into the air during a burn. As the wick is consumed, the ash, mixed with non-combustible oils from the candle, become aerosol and stick to the surfaces in your space. Break out the shaving cream and sponge (;
Burn Time: A good rule of thumb is to burn your candle for at least as many hours as there are inches in it’s diameter, in one session. This means that if you have a three inch diameter candle, burn it for three hours at a time. The candle will create a memory wax pool, which is the liquified wax from previous burns, hardened. If you don’t burn completely to the edge of the candle, there will be a ring of unmelted wax around its perimeter. Inside this ring is the memory pool. And the candle won’t melt past that point in future burns. There are ways to fix this, what’s called “tunneling”, but it’s best to avoid it if possible.
Making The Switch & Loving Myself A Little More For It
Now, self-love or self-care has become a fad. One that’s passed its coolness factor much the way people have switched from Yeti mugs to Stanley Cups. It was a talking point. Something to feel like you’re in the know, hanging with the in-crowd, the crėme de la crėme. But self-care for me was thankfully something that stuck.
Candles were one of the first ways I learned how to practice self-love after casting a love spell with a candle I bought in Salem MA, when I was a teenager. It was a red pillar candle, and I believe it had a charm on, or in it. A couple of friends and I cast the spell in a park I used to play in as a child. I see now that I was looking for simpler times, when and where I felt safe and secure. My life was chaotic at the time and I didn’t know where else to turn to for love.
Now burning a candle before bed is an essential element of my nightly routine. Something that does more then just shed light during my daily wind-down. They create a sense of comfort and ease. Of well-being. A little piece of that night I cast the spell. Looking back at the blanket of snow with the faint glow of the light from the candle brings me warmth and comfort. I’ll leave you with a song that’s one of my favorites and on brand with this post. Peace & thanks for reading :)⛰️🌙
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