The Ecological Impact of Essential Oils
We are often asked why we do not use pure essential oils in our candles. For part one of the answer to this question please see our last blog post.
The second part of the answer to this question is one of environmental sustainability. This is quite a complicated issue, but I will attempt to sum it up in this short post.
If every candle maker, perfumer, home fragrance company, and other users of aromas, were to only use 100% natural essential oils in their products many plants would effectively be wiped of the face of the planet. A prime example of this is Sandalwood. Sandalwood does not currently grow in sufficient quantities in natural settings to meet even a small percentage of the worlds demand for fragrances containing sandalwood. As such many farmers have begun to grow sandalwood much like we do wheat, and soy. However, this has led to the further destruction of forests and wetlands to make room for these farms.
Even with commercial growing of many of these plants we still would consume them to extinction if we used their oils to the level of full demand. We must ask ourselves, if it is really worth using that fragrance oil if the harvesting of the plant is causing a negative impact on the environment.
The final aspect of essential oil use is volume. In the case of many oils the amount of plant material that must be used to produce even a single oz of oil is extremely high. Case in point: it can take as much as 80 lbs of Lavender flowers to make 1 oz of Lavender oil. That is a lot of plant matter that could have been used for for other purposes such as teas. Imagine how many cups of tea 80 lbs of Lavender could make. Now take that same 80 lbs of Lavender and you get approximately, 4 seven oz candles.
As mentioned in my previous post we do use fragrance oils that contain essential oils, however, we generally do not use oils that only contain them. Essential oils are also more likely to fluctuate in price due to their supply being tied to weather patterns and crop success. Further the quality of an oil can vary from season to season depending on the growing conditions which can lead to an unreliable quality level in our fragrances.
When we do use essential oils we strive to balance the need for environmental sustainability and economic viability. We will generally avoid oils which come from plant matter that is endangered or is often grown in clear cuts, or under questionable circumstances. Further we try to use oils that come from relatively, small amounts of plant matter, although it is very rare to find since most oils require massive amounts of plant matter much like the lavender example above.
While we were preparing to launch our new Soy Soap product I found this interesting clip from the Health Canada website:
“Natural Versus Synthetic”
“There is a general assumption among consumers that “natural” products are better or healthier than similar ones using synthetic ingredients. Often, however, these “natural” ingredients are no different in chemical composition than their synthetic counterparts. In fact, a synthetic substance which mimics a natural one can sometimes provide a purer, more stable ingredient which gives the product a longer usable life. Health Canada considers both natural and synthetic ingredients to be equally suitable for use in cosmetics.”
quoted from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/person/cosmet/faq-eng.php#natural
One final thought on essential oils is also that many commonly used essential oils can also be quite dangerous to the health of certain persons. A number of the natural ingredients such as patchouli oil, civet, orris root, galbanum, asafetida, and bergamot oil can also cause trouble, particularly for sensitive individuals. Bergamot oil is classified as a hazardous substance and strong sensitizer much like formaldehyde. That is, like formaldehyde, it is capable of causing Multiple Chemical Hypersensitivity in otherwise well people. These are all common oils used in many scented products.