I apologize that I have not been blogging as much as I used to. It has been a very busy summer. Fortunately, we received 2 mentions in Lucky Magazine for their
July and
August issues and on their website and we've received a ton of traffic and orders. Also, I have 2 young children and we took a "break" with camp for the last 2 weeks making it ever so challenging to write blog entries. But we are back in camp again, (thankfully) giving me some much-needed free time.
Welcome to the Tuesday Eco-Elitist series where I talk about easy things that you can do to "green" your life. Do note, I use the term Eco-Elitist with tongue-in-cheek, I'm really not perfect- far from it. I've even thought about changing the name as I really don't want to turn people off to being open minded. There are certain things I won't budge on like recycling and using canvas bags instead of plastic ones. I've been enjoying writing this blog because it is something that interests me and I'm also learning along the way. I realize how hard it is today with all this information coming at you about global warming and
BPA in plastic, chlorine in place mats and toxic chemicals in our food and please save the polar bears!!! It is absolutely exhausting! I also know that being green can sometimes be more expensive. I have to be extra careful when shopping in Whole Foods. I love the store and what they stand for and I want my family to be eating good, clean, natural, pesticide and chemical free, wholesome food but I can't spend $300 on groceries every week. The positive is that new research and important information is now available and we are lucky to even have choices. Learn as much as you can handle absorbing. You'll be surprised that you'll start to form new and better habits for you, your family and our precious earth.
Today, I'm going to talk about candles but first let me mention a really terrific book to have on hand. It's called
the Green Book and it is written by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen and published by Three Rivers Press in New York. It is a handy dandy green reference guide, one that you can read daily in order to learn about a new tip or idea that will help you easily make eco-friendly changes in your life "one simple step at a time."
Candles- some candles are made of paraffin wax and paraffin is made from petroleum (oil) which when burned
contributes to global warming. It is best to use beeswax or soy candles as they are renewable substances and burn cleaner (approximately 90% cleaner) and 50% longer than paraffin candles. According to
the Green Book, the crude oil used to make just one 16 ounce paraffin candle contains enough energy to power a 60 watt light bulb for 100 hours." This fun little book loves
hypotheticals- but it does really put things in perspective-"If just one hundred households replaced an 8 ounce petroleum-based candle with a soy or beeswax candle, the energy saved could keep the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center lit 24/7 from Thanksgiving to the fourth of July!" Wow, let's make that happen!
We carry soy candles from
Kobo and beeswax candles from
Soap and Paper Factory. And our
Claus Porto candles are a soy blend. Our
Dayna Decker candles is a
translucent wax made of natural oils and resin.
