Help with This One...

I love candles. Love love love them. I have some burning a really soft glow at my desk right now. Eco-friendly? Depends upon what they are made from, I guess. Some say soy candles are great. I say no, soy is very GMO. Beeswax works for me, but the vegans will say no to that one. I just buy candles. Good-smelling, inexpensive candles. I love the gentle smell and the soft glow.

The latest trend lately has been flameless candles. I'm a fire sign, so burning candles with actual fire is fine by me. I don't have kids to eff with them, and I place them out of range of my cats.

I'm not sure about flameless candles. They are pretty. I guess they have plastic parts, which is not great. When they are done being useful or stop working, they got to Ever Ever Land. Regular candles at least mostly get consumed. These... just stick around. And here's the part that gets me more: they can take 2 AA batteries or 4 AAA batteries. And while they are usually LED and take very little energy and do not actually burn through batteries quickly (pun intended), they are still using batteries. Which also stay in Ever Ever Land. And I don't know a whole lot of people using rechargeable. Oh, and some come with remotes. Gimme a break on that one. Remotes for candles.

In researching these, they seem very nice. They do last a long time, they take very little energy, and many are made of actual wax and emit a soft aroma. Actually, I had to laugh at a complaint I saw... apparently sometimes they flicker, then they'll go really bright for a few seconds, then resume flickering. THIS is your gripe?? Sigh. But anyway, I thought with the battery use they were a big bad idea, but now I am not so sure. Might they be better than candles? Candles have soot... candles can be made from bad stuff... I really just don't know on this one.

Those little fake plastic votives they use in restaurants now? Ick. Always hate those. Those really are just chunks of useless plastic and I cannot condone.

Thoughts? What say you? Fan of the flameless, just for certain areas, feel safer with them around? Maybe that's it. Maybe for just certain spots, and keep the other ones around too. Maybe it's a world where we have both. Let me know what you think...

Still can't quite take the FOUR AAA batteries per candle....

Green Gifts: Day 6

Candles! We love candles, and they make great gifts, BUT....

Not all candles are created equal. Some are "greener" than others. For instance, candles made from soy will last longer that paraffin candles, and they are made from... well, SOY instead of paraffin, which is petroleum-based. I cannot say soy candles are healthier for YOU than regular paraffin, as some will claim, but they hold a scent better, and avoiding petroleum products is always preferable. That IS healthier for everything and everyone, I think. Plus, soy comes from the US. It's grown right here. So there's that. Plus, my good friend Michelle "Green Coach" Carroll says that you can use the melted wax as a moisturizer for your hands! She has some very nice gifts and suggestions on her site: http://emaginegreen.myvoffice.com/michellecarroll/ Please check her out!

Pure beeswax candles are also a nice choice. I've seen claims that 100% beeswax candles actually help the air around feel better and cleaner. I'll let you decided for yourself on that one. They might seem pricey, but they last MUCH longer than paraffin candles, and besides, these are gifts! There are some truly beautiful beeswax candles out there. Beeswax is a by-product of honey, so it's not like your harming bees to get a candle. Also, this is a good way to spread the appreciation of honeybees. They are in trouble, and awareness is always a good thing in my book.

There you have it: some good suggestions for the candle-afficianado on your list, or for that host/hostess gift. Green gifts are so easy that you barely need to think about it!