Ethical Tea light candles....

Stepping away from beauty for a moment (because I had to share), I quickly wanted to tell you about these little tea lights I have been using for the past year. Aloha Bay Palm Wax tea lights are a really nice ethical and eco-friendly little candle. Although a candle is just a candle, it is the business behind them that is the reason I like them so much (as well as them being non-toxic).

 Aloha Bay tea lights are made completely of vegetable palm wax and with their pure cotton wicks (a.k.a. lead free), they are very clean burning. I have found that they do burn for about 5 hours, like they say they do, but I have to be honest and say I haven't taken a stopwatch to it. They are exactly the same size as regular tea lights, so they will fit in whatever holder you have nicely. The wax sits in the usual aluminium 'cup' and has no scent. There are two varieties, but don't get excited as there is only cream or white, although some other websites do sell coloured ones in glass holders but they are hard to get hold of in the UK. The white is listed as 100% Organic Palm Wax and the cream is just listed 100% Vegetable Palm Wax.

 The Aloha Bay company quotes:

"Description

• Certified Organic Palm Wax
• Eco Palm Wax
• Tea Lights in Cups
• Reach Compliant Vegetable Oil Based Dyes
• Pure Cotton Wicks

A Fair Trade Product from Indonesia

These Palm Wax Tea Lights are handmade in a small factory in rural Java, where the employees enjoy humane working conditions, good wages, free health care and vacation benefits.

Ecological Advantages of Palm Oil

• Perennial Palm Trees: no yearly tilling of soil.
• Ancient Crop: GMO free; pest resistant.
• Less Machinery: more rural employment.
• More Oil per Acre: 10 times more than soy.

Eco Palm Wax is made of 100% certified Organic Palm Oil from sustainable and socially responsible tree farms in South America. The organic palm groves are established on lands reclaimed from extensive agriculture, thereby also providing new habitats for indigenous wildlife."

 So although these candles are not a beauty product, I could't help but share these little gems.

I buy them from iherb in America, who send to the UK for about £3 if your total weight is under 4lb. Be wary though because if you spend over £15 you might be charged around £13 import. Here is the link http://www.iherb.com/Aloha-Bay-Palm-Wax-Candles-Tea-Lights-Unscented-White-12-Pack/38764