Light in the dark: Christmas is approaching and with it the high season for candles. Many suppliers advertise that their products are made from vegetable stearin instead of petroleum-based paraffin. But the palm oil required for stearin is also being criticized because of the environmental impact of its cultivation. Deutsche Umwelthilfe has now investigated whether and how much of the palm oil used in candles comes from certified and therefore sustainable cultivation.
The use of fossil raw materials is considered to be one of the main causes of climate change. Nevertheless, many candles, for example, are made from paraffin wax, which is produced when petroleum is processed. As a substitute for this, manufacturers of candles now often rely on vegetable stearin from palm oil. But the extraction of this renewable raw material has also come under fire: commercial oil palm cultivation is responsible for clearing rainforests in Malaysia and Indonesia, for example, and for the decline of around 400 animal species. If the raw material does not come from controlled sustainable cultivation, it is also harmful to the environment.
How much palm oil from sustainable cultivation?
In order to find out how much of the plant-based candle wax comes from certified, sustainable palm cultivation, researchers led by Karoline Kickler from the German Environmental Aid (DUH) have now carried out a candle check. To do this, they first researched which of the selected candles are actually made from palm oil. In the case of candles made from the vegetable stearin, they checked the origin and cultivation form of the palm oil used and to what extent this is stated on the packaging. The researchers considered a total of 52 manufacturers and products from various stores, including drug stores, supermarkets and hardware stores.
It turned out that the majority of providers do not make it clear whether palm oil is used in their candles or how it is grown. According to this, it remains unclear for a total of 40 percent of the manufacturers examined whether the candles possibly contain palm oil from commercial cultivation. “People currently have no way of finding out whether the candles in their shopping trolleys are connected to the destruction of the rainforest and the loss of species,” explains Kickler’s colleague Sascha Müller-Kraenner. “Furniture stores such as Roller, decoration suppliers such as Nanu Nana and hardware stores such as Hornbach are extremely opaque to customers.”
Overall, only 15 of the 52 companies examined in the candle check state that the palm oil they use comes exclusively from sustainable cultivation. These include candles that are sold by Ikea, dm or the Metro, but also candles from Alnatura or Gepa. Also positive: The supermarkets are doing well according to the German Environmental Aid: If candles of the own brands contain palm oil, this comes 100 percent from sustainable cultivation. Only the supermarket chain real does not reveal the proportion of sustainable palm oil. However, none of this is recognizable at first glance: Hardly any company that uses sustainable palm oil in candles states this on the product label in the form of a sustainability seal.
Why are the labels missing?
But why are there no markings on the candles even in the positive examples? The research team sees the main reason for the lack of transparency in the fact that there is currently no legal obligation to declare palm oil in candles. “Consumers must be able to recognize palm oil components on all products, not just food,” demands Kickler. “This is why the statutory declaration requirement for palm oil must be expanded to include non-food products.” And that even for candles that contain sustainably grown palm oil: “Manufacturers must be obliged to provide information on the sustainable origin of palm oil. Many people are not aware that they can support palm oil from sustainable cultivation on existing land, ”the researcher continues. As a first step, at least at the request of Deutsche Umwelthilfe, providers such as Lidl and Aldi have announced that they will clearly label sustainably grown palm oil in their candles from 2021.
The purchase decision would be even easier if the use of non-certified palm oil were forbidden by law, says the German Environmental Aid. Because, according to her, the demand for a voluntary change has so far done too little. “There is no way around mandatory regulations to switch to 100 percent sustainable, deforestation-free palm oil,” said the DUH. “In order to effectively combat deforestation outside of our supply chains, the EU must ultimately initiate further measures and programs to protect the rainforest.”
Until that happens, however, Kickler and her colleagues recommend moderate and careful consumption of the most sustainable candles possible, which can be found on the Internet or in the candle check of the German Environmental Aid.
Source: Deutsche Umwelthilfe study candle check, overview table (PDF)