Photo courtesy of jonty_forrester at Flickr.com.
Until inexpensive petrochemicals came along, most candles were made from beeswax and similar natural waxes. Like most (but certainly not all!) old-fashioned solutions, beeswax represents the better, more ecologically sound bargain. It may be a little more expensive than petroleum-based paraffin wax, but it’s also renewable on a large-scale basis, it doesn’t use up precious fossil fuels, and it tends to burn longer and cleaner than paraffin, introducing less soot and other pollutants into the air. Soy candles, which are made from the oil of the soybean (is there anything this wonder bean can’t do?), are similarly clean-burning and long-lived.
Photo courtesy of thefoundling at Flickr.com.
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Great info.
Especially your point about environmental factors: “it’s also renewable on a large-scale basis, it doesn’t use up precious fossil fuels, and it tends to burn longer and cleaner than paraffin, introducing less soot and other pollutants into the air.”
Thanks!