I was asked recently to prepare some information for an event that sets River City's candles apart from standard store-bought candles. After preparing the documentation, I realized that it would be perfect blog topic as aside from our About Us page, our site doesn't go into great detail about the importance of clean-burning, non-toxic candles.
I'll first delve into the health risks associated to low quality candles, then cover the how River City candles are made differently and finish with some changes we'll be making to our wicks starting with the fall collection.
Health Risks Associated to Low-quality Candles
Store-bought candles are commonly made from Paraffin (or petroleum) wax which is neither clean-burning nor biodegradable. Paraffin wax contains a combination of toxic chemicals referred to as BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene). Benzene is a known carcinogen and toluene is linked to developmental and reproductive toxicity. The chemicals released from paraffin wax over an extended period of time could contribute to the development of cancer, allergies, asthma and headaches (I have personally experienced this myself).
In addition to using paraffin wax, store-bought candles may also use fragrance oils containing phthalates which have been linked to linked to endocrine disruption, including lower sperm count in males. Phthalates can also cause damage to the female reproductive system and have been known to cause a variety of birth defects and reproductive impairments.
The River City Candle Difference
eco-friendly, non-toxic 🌿 💚
- Handcrafted in small batches from an all-natural, vegan soy wax blend
- Premium fragrance oils infused with essential oils
- Phthalate-free
- California Prop 65 compliant
- Clean burning wood and lead-free cotton wicks
Speaking of wicks, River City will exclusively use double cotton wicks starting with the fall collection. I know, I love the crackle of the wood wick too, but we've noticed too many inconsistencies during burn tests with the wood wick that's resulted in higher than normal flames and soot. Since wood is a natural product, the wicks can vary slightly in width, etc. so performance can be somewhat unpredictable.
We recently conducted several burn tests using the same container, fragrance and appropriately sized wicks and the cotton wicks consistently performed well whereas the wooden wicks tended to either under or over perform as shown below (wood wick on the right).
Regardless, I only want safe, clean-burning candles in my customers' homes so I made a decision to use cotton wicks going forward. The cotton wicks will produce the same great scent, burn slower so your candles will last longer and to be honest, I find the double wicks to be quite elegant - minus the crackle. 😉
If you have any questions about this blog, feel free to contact us. I would be happy to answer any questions.
Darlene ❤️
