The Challenge

Most scented candles sold today are not healthy -- they emit toxic pollutants like benzene, toluene, and alkenes into the air (and into your home). Paraffin, the most commonly used wax, is a by-product of petroleum or kerosene. To make it aesthetically appealing, paraffin is typically mixed with other toxic materials such as artificial colors and synthetic fragrances. In fact, burning an aromatherapy candle in a room is the equivalent of smoking a cigar (per Kapalo, Voznyak, Adamski study in 2019)

In contrast, beeswax is a unique and superior wax. It is truly nature’s wax as it is much less toxic -- studies show that beeswax releases significantly less formaldehyde and naphthalene (soot), fewer dioxins and less polychlorinated dibenzofurans (known teratogens, mutagens and suspected carcinogens) than paraffin in the air. Beeswax does not require caustic materials to clean it during the manufacturing process -- plain water is used to remove impurities. And beeswax burns slowly, making it ideal for a lasting home fragrance experience.

As the bee population becomes compromised and deteriorates due to global warming, beeswax becomes harder and harder to get. The production of beeswax in a hive is 7x less than honey and can only be harvested in limited sources, to ensure the bees can sustain their environment.

At Isle de Nature, we’ve made supporting the bees our mission.

Our sustainability mission:

We believe that when we take from the earth, we need to replenish. It is all of our responsibilities in business to not leave a negative impact on the environment.

We are committed to continue to improve our sustainability practices and to find ways to reduce our environmental impact wherever possible. This means not only nurturing the bees, but we also protecting them.

That’s why we’ve begun to build our own hives in locations where nature is in its abundant glory. We now have hives in Dominica and The Berkshires (western Massachusetts) and continue to expand our operations.

We also commit to:

• Ensuring our products are produced as environmentally friendly as possible (the materials, the production, the supply chain).
• Looking for sustainable packaging solutions.
• Recycling as much waste material as possible.
• Eliminating excess paper (email invoices and packing slips when possible).
• Recycling equipment that is no longer of use to the company, such as computers and printers that we no longer need,
• Purchasing products made with recycled paper. For example, paper towels, printer paper. Reuse packing materials where possible.
• Using low impact transport for travel for business. For example, use public transportation whenever possible.
• Avoiding unnecessary travel by making use of instant messaging, video and audio conferencing, telephone, and email.
• Working with partners who share our sustainability perspective.

We are also Green Business Bureau platinum certified. Green Business Bureau helps companies look at their sustainability efforts holistically and make incremental changes to consistently improve.