Organic Diapers

Our office manager, Sarah, just welcomed her first baby. We are very excited for her. In consideration of the new baby we wanted to offer some tips and advice on diapers and some of the great features organic diapers offer. Additionally, if you will be burning candles we recommend using chemical free candles such as BsaB Candles.

For mothers everywhere diapers are used constantly throughout the day. When the trend changed to disposable diapers instead of cloth diapers everyone thought it would be better. However, all those diapers end up in landfills which harms our environment.

In addition to the environmental concerns and savings, there are many other benefits to having organic diapers instead of disposable diapers. The comfort of the child is very important for the child and the parent. When the baby is happy, the parents are happy. Organic diapers are more absorbent which makes for a dry and comfortable baby all day long. Organic diapers also all-natural which means there is a lesser risk for rashes or irritations to the baby. Additionally, the cost of Organic diapers is less than disposable, making these a great option during these times of economic trouble. Lastly, organic diapers help the environment so you and your baby can be part of making this world a better place.

Using all-natural resource is always the best way to go even with baby diapers. What a difference this would make to our environment. Bsab Candles, manufacturer of all-natural candles, sees the benefits of using all-natural, organic products.

The benefits of organic diapers: comfort, cost, saving the environment. Helping our environment one step at a time

The ambiance you create in your office and treatment rooms reflects who you are as a business and a massage therapist. Candles are one way of introducing both soft lighting and healing fragrance into your practice. Learn more about choosing and using candles safely.

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How to Make Soy Wax

Soy wax is a natural wax derived from the sustainable soybean plant. Today we want to discuss how soy wax is made. From the soybean to soy wax to soy candles.

Soybean or soya bean plants are legume plants native to Asia. China has been using the plant for food and medicine for over 5,000 years. Soy contains essential amino acids and is a good source of protein and is often used as a dairy substitute. Soybean oil is a large source of “vegetable oil” worldwide. The main countries in the world that now grow soybean plants are the US, China, India, Brazil and Argentina.

Soybeans come in many sizes and colors including black, brown, yellow, gray and green. Soybeans are used for many foods and are a large part of many Asians diet with foods such as Tofu, soybean paste and seasonings. The soybean oil can be used to make a variety of things such as soaps, cosmetics, inks etc. The soy plant is a hearty plant that grows well in climates with hot summers and can grow in a wide variety of soil types. This plant is 100% sustainable and can grow on almost every continent.

Soybeans to Soy Wax

Before soywax is made we need soybean oil. The most common method of obtaining soy oil and subsequent soy flour is through a method of oil extraction involving rolling the clean dehulled soybeans into flakes and the oil is extracted and refined leaving the soybeans to be made into flour or meal. The oil is then hydrogenated which turns the oil into a wax. Hydrogenation is basically where poly and mono-saturated oils are solidified by temporarily mixing hydrogen with the soy oil at an elevated temperature through a special proprietary process. Once hydrogenated the soy oil is now soy wax. Pure soy wax is white or slightly off-white. 100% soy wax is even safe for consumption, although not recommended.

Soy Wax to Candles

The soy wax can then be used to make all natural clean burning soy candles.

So, that is the process…soybean to soy candle…isn’t it wonderful!

Candles come in many shapes and sizes and as we’ve discussed before not all candles nor their ingredients are equal.  So, what makes a candle natural and what is a natural soy candle? These are great questions and questions which need to be addressed…

What is a natural candle or natural soy candle? There are 4 main elements we like to consider when it comes to natural candles…Wax, Wick, Scent, & Presentation.

Natural Wax: Let’s start with Wax. In order for a candle to be natural the wax should be from 100% natural waxes such as soy or beeswax. We also suggest making sure the wax is sustainable. Most candles on the US market are made using Petroleum-based waxes which don’t burn very clean. Would you burn gasoline in your house? Here is a link for more wax information.

Natural Wicks: Wicks are often overlooked when considering candles. Wicks should be made of 100% natural fibers, cotton is usually the best option. Because the fibers are fine most wicks are reinforced with another material. This is very important as this material is burning too. Be sure to choose wicks reinforced with natural paper (or other fiber) filaments and not metals. Some candles use lead reinforcements. You wouldn’t burn lead in your room would you?

Natural Scents: In addition to improving ambience in a room candles are often used for aromatherapy and to scent a room. The scent of a candle is important and shouldn’t be overlooked. Most, about 90%, of candle manufacturers use chemical fragrances to scent their candles. We’ve looked at some of the ingredients for these chemicals and many are potentially dangerous and even hazardous. Most companies use chemicals because they are far cheaper than essential oils. We always suggest using 100% essential oils made entirely from plants. When it comes to scented candles there really is no other way.

Natural Presentation: Presentation says a lot about a candle and the manufacturer. It is important to support companies that use natural packaging and recycled materials. We suggust using 100% soy ink for printing, natural glues, biodegradable plastics and organic cotton materials. Packaging is a simple way to tell a lot about a company.

It is no secret that we offer some of the finest Natural Soy Candles and Natural Beeswax Candles in the world and hopefully the above information helps you when buying candles for your home, office, or spa.  We appreciate your comments and suggestions for improvement. Thank you!

We at BsaB Candles are very proud of the fact that we are in the process of developing our new creation center in Thailand which will be 100% solar powered. One of, perhaps even the first 100% solar powered manufacturing facility in Thailand. We pride ourselves in reusing all we can and trying to help keep the earth clean for future generations. Why not have Organic & All Natural Candles made using renewable energy…now that is sustainable and that is what we call a “Clean Green Candle.”

Making candles using renewable ingredients and using renewable energy is the way of BsaB and hopefully the way of the future. It is amazing how many companies market themselves as “green” or “natural” but are really only partially so… “soy blend” or “essential oils used” are some of the most common marketing ploys in the candle world.

This video is a great video explaining a bit about Wind Energy and some of the exciting developments happening in Europe with ocean based wind-farms.

Truly amazing technology and definitely something we embrace. Whether you are looking for your store, spa, office or home it is nice to know when you use BsaB’s All Natural Candles you help yourself, others and the earth. Something you and others can enjoy forever and ever.

This article was written for the Organic Trade Association…enjoy!

Here at BsaB Candles we use all natural and organic ingredients both in our products and in our packaging. For example our Bamboo Candles are covered with a thin PLA biodegradable plastic film adhered to the bamboo using an all natural glue. We have recieved several questions about our biodegradable plastic made from corn so we’ve decided to write about this today.

What is Biodegradable Plastic, PLA, or Corn Plastic?

This is a very valid and reasonable question. Did we just say plastic from corn not from oil? We sure did. Before we go into the biodegradable aspect of plastics it if important that we understand a bit about plastics.

First off plastics are amazing and have revolutionized the way our world works (for good and bad). Plastics can be found just about everywhere…our clothes (polyester, nylons, foams, glasses), cars (seats, seat-belts, dashboard, doors), houses (carpet, some paints, carpet padding, furniture), food (packaging, packaging, packaging), businesses (computers, printers, chairs), etc etc. Plastics can be found all over. Truly a versatile product, but it comes with many disadvantages as well.

The problem is that plastics are made from petroleum through chemical processes which use a lot of energy and cause much pollution. Plastics are also a non-renewable resource. And last but not least plastics are practically indestructable in that they take thousands and thousands of years to biodegrate or decompose (if they ever really do). Literally, Tons of Plastics are dumped into our landfills year after year, constantly building up and polluting our earth. In the Oceans there are massive ”floating landfills” with millions and millions of plastic bottles, bags and other plastic packaging. (For these and many more reasons it was an easy choice for BsaB Candles to use only 100% biodegradable plastics.)

It is easy to see the potential benefits from biodegradable plastics….but how is it done? “Corn plastic has been around for 20 years, but the polymer was too expensive for broad commercial applications until 1989, when Patrick Gruber, then a Cargill chemist looking for new ways to use corn, invented a way to make the polymer more efficiently. Working with his wife, also a chemist, he created his first prototype PLA products on his kitchen stove. In the beginning, it cost $200 to make a pound of PLA; now it’s less than $1.” source:Smithsonian The science behind the biodegradable plastic or PLA as it is called (polylactic acid) doesn’t seem very hard but it is the scaleability which makes it difficult. There were many problems with stability during the begining research stages. Whole containers of PLA had to be thrown-away (luckily it’s biodegradable) because the PLA couldn’t withstand high temperatures and would melt or warp in transit.

Ok already…So how is it made? The actual process is very cool, but perhaps the easiest way to see and learn for yourself is to direct you to a video about the PLA production.

Biodegradable Plastic Isn’t a Cure-All

We are anxious to see more use of biodegradable plastics and packaging and are excited to see new greener technologies emerge as well. PLA doesn’t fix our problems it is true as pointed out by TheDailyGreen here but they sure could help with future landfill waste.

Welcome to our blog about organic and natural news and information. We will start posting soon. There are so many great and wonderful environmental and health topics we want to cover. Stay tuned…