Coconut Oil: The Majority Host

Those of us in the candle industry know that every manmade wax begins with an oil. Not everyone is aware of the unfortunate fact that not all candle waxes are created equal. On the contrary, a great number of commonly used oils are far from sustainable, taking from the natural resources provided to us by Mother Nature, rather than working in tandem with them. Petroleum- and soy oil-based candles are all too common, yet they are not eco-friendly.

We didn’t want to play by the old rules. We knew that we wanted to break new ground in the candle industry, selecting only materials that worked harmoniously with the natural environment. In addition, we knew that we wanted to be consistently transparent about our practices—that is to say, if we promised that a candle was sustainable, we wanted to ensure that we had the accreditation and certification to back it up.

This meant taking the time to understand each individual base material. One of the ways in which FC is unique is our reliance on only three core ingredients.

The Foundational Host

This brings us to the majority host of our wax: coconut oil. We knew we wanted to support raw, renewable resources as ingredients in our candles. Ideally, we hoped to find an oil that could cut back or completely eliminate the need for destructive methods, such as oil drilling, deforestation, or mono-cropping.

What we learned, through our time experimenting with various oils, is that the coconut fruit is perhaps Mother Nature’s best-kept secret. This industrious fruit comes from a tree capable of longevity and requiring absolutely no deforestation. Coconut trees, when allowed to grow to full maturity and harvested sustainably, can bear fruit for up to 60 years.

Certification and Transparency

Coconut oil is tremendously sustainable, requiring no clear-cutting, GMO planting, or disruption of natural biodiversity. Its chemical makeup is highly effective at protecting the essential oils in our candles. The fatty acids found within coconut oil offer a low melt point which creates a safe environment for precious essential oils to emit slowly when heated. An oil with a higher melt point would burn the essential oils.

Our coconut oil supplier is certified organic by ECOCERT. Founded in Europe in 1991, today this organic certification organization inspects companies in over 80 countries worldwide, granting certification only to the most environmentally friendly businesses in a wide range of industries, including the health and wellness space. Working with Canadian ECOCERT suppliers has enabled us to build trust with our customer base and hold ourselves to higher standards of accountability.

Unlike many candlemakers, who utilize up to eight ingredients, we have synthesized our wax into the smallest and most sustainable array of materials possible. Each of our candles are handcrafted with three foundational ingredients in our Stouffville, Ontario warehouse.