Create a natural, eco-friendly, and sustainable glow with these best ethically sourced beeswax candles, direct from beekeepers.
Here in the UK, we love our candles. So much so that we collectively spend more than £90million on candles every year.
Whilst there is nothing more atmospheric than relaxing by candlelight on a dark autumn or winter evening, there’s nothing that quite kills the mood when you realise that most standard candles tend to be made from paraffin wax. Paraffin wax is a by-product of petroleum oil – a fossil fuel that drives the climate crisis.
As well as the climate crisis, candles are also linked to health problems. Scented candles in particular are linked to indoor air pollution – which can cause breathing problems and other health issues.
Don’t worry though! The good news is you don’t have to give up romantic candlelit suppers or baths. There are eco-friendly candle choices out there that will give you that sustainable glow. If you’re vegan, soy candles make for a great eco-swap. And beeswax candles can also be an eco-friendly choice.
Why Are Beeswax Candles Better?
Beeswax candles can make for a great eco-friendly alternative to paraffin-based candles. For a start, beeswax is a natural and renewable product derived from bees – it is the wax that honeybees secrete and use to create their honeycombs.
You may be wondering how ethical this extraction is. Small beekeepers who sell beeswax use ethical means of beeswax extraction to keep their business going. It wouldn’t be sustainable for them to harm their bees, so bees are not harmed or killed in order to extract the beeswax.
Of course, larger companies may not be so diligent or ethical. If you are shopping for candles from companies other than those listed below, always check that the company uses ethical means of beeswax extraction that do not harm the bees.
Beeswax also has a high melting point, compared to other waxes. This means beeswax candles burn for longer than paraffin ones. Beeswax is also clean burning – emitting no toxins, and very little to no soot or smoke. This means it can be a better choice for those who suffer from asthma, other lung conditions or allergies to standard candles.
Beeswax undergoes no chemical processing. And provided it has no artificial fragrance oils added to it, then it is even compostable.
The Best Beeswax Candles For Every Occasion
Here are our favourite fossil-fuel-free beeswax candles – all direct from small beekeepers – so you can enjoy a cosy glow whilst ensuring the sustainability of your candles:
- Beeswax Candles In Jars
- Beeswax Birthday Cake Numbered Candles
- Beeswax Birthday Candles
- Pillar Candles
- Tealight Candles
Beeswax Candles In Jars
Looking for a pretty beeswax candle in a jar? Five Bees Yard is the place to go.
As the 3rd generation of beekeepers based in Herefordshire, Five Bees Yard take pride in keeping things as simple as possible and as close to nature as they can. In their three apiaries, they keep their bees using generations of experience and applying exactly the same methods as their grandparents did.
As well as honey, Five Bees Yard handmakes their range of candles made from pure beeswax. These pretty jars come in a range of scents, and to reduce waste they can be refilled with refill candles from Five Bees Yard.
Buy from Five Bees Yard, via Etsy, from £13.50.
Beeswax Birthday Cake Number Candles
If a birthday isn’t a birthday without a big number on the cake, then don’t worry, you can still have your cake and eat it. Five Bees Yard handmakes these amazing eco-friendly beeswax birthday cake number candles.
These non-drip natural and sustainable candles have been handmade using Five Bees Yard’s own beeswax, using only raw beeswax and unbleached cotton. What’s more – there’s no need for a plastic holder – the candle can be placed directly onto your cake.
With a long burn time, you can store these away and use them again for another birthday.
Buy from Five Bees Yard, via Etsy for £4.00 per candle.
Beeswax Birthday Candles
Looking to ditch petroleum-based birthday cake candles? Beeswax Alchemy hand-dips their beeswax candles in pairs with beeswax from their own apiaries, or apiaries from local West Country beekeepers. This allows them to authenticate the quality and ethical provenance of their beeswax.
Their beautiful beeswax birthday cake candles are all handmade, using an ancient hand-dipping technique. This means there may be a slight variation in the size of each candle, but that just adds to the rustic charm.
The candles are non-drip, so you won’t end up with any wax on your delicious cake. And as each candle lasts for around one hour, these candles should last for quite a few birthdays!
Buy from Beeswax Alchemy, via Etsy, for £6 for 10 candles.
Pillar Candles
As well as birthday cake candles, Beeswax Alchemy also make beautiful hand-rolled pillar candles. Here, they clean the beeswax collected from their hives and filter it. The wax is then pressed into sheets before being hand-rolled into 100% pure beeswax candles.
With a burn time of around 12 hours, that’s a whole lot of cosy candlelit evenings or baths to be had from just one candle.
Buy from Beeswax Alchemy, via Etsy for £12 for 2 pillar candles.
Tealight Candles
Finally, if you are looking for beeswax tealights then try Dorset-based Bee Mine. As a small beekeeper, the beeswax is sourced from their own bees. To help reduce waste, once you’ve burned your tealights you can reuse the metal tealight holders by ordering tealight refills. These arrive naked – without the metal casing – ready for you to drop right into the old case and use again.
The wicks are made of pure cotton and dipped with beeswax, rather than paraffin. The candles are then packaged in fully recyclable cardboard packaging, free from plastic. Bee Mine says most orders will be sent in a letterbox parcel, so there’s no need to wait for the postman.
Buy from Bee Mine, via Etsy, from £5.59.
Can’t find exactly what you are looking for? As I find more small-scale candlemakers making beeswax from ethically and sustainably sourced wax I’ll be sure to add them. Do check back later to see what I’ve found.
PS: If you want to make your own beeswax tealight candles, then I’ve got a guide for that!
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