A strain on natural resources
It’s important to understand the true quantity of plant life it takes to harvest essential oils. To produce just one drop of rose absolute, you need 30-50 single roses. This is a huge amount of natural resource to create the quantity needed for aromatherapy, not to mention the air miles associated with transporting the raw materials from farmer to distiller, and then on to its final destination.
We choose to use a phthalate-free fragrance oil in place of rose absolute to ensure that as many roses as possible can be left in the ground where they belong.
Aromatherapy properties
The amount of essential oil needed to create an aromatherapy candle is significant and their properties are in fact lost when burnt within a candle. This is due to the high temperature of the flame and, in our opinion, makes the use of essential oils in candles counterproductive. If you’re looking to use aromatherapy for health and wellness benefits, dispersing them in carrier oils and oil burners means that you can use a very small amount of oil to get the desired results.
Our Flore candle is scented with the calming fragrance of lilac, here we opted for the phthalate-free fragrance oil to capture the onset of spring.
The plant watch list:
As the demand for essential oils grows, more and more plants are at risk of becoming extinct. A watch list is currently being kept up to date and new plants are added all the time. Rosewood, boswellia (frankincense), sandalwood and over thirty more are on the list, and it keeps rising. The scent of oud, found in our much-loved North candle, originally comes from the agarwood tree originating in India. For many years, the resin of agarwood has been used in luxury perfumery and is now one step away from being declared extinct.
We vow to always use the synthetic version of any plant that is being over-farmed, is close to extinction or has become a strain on natural resources.
Final thoughts
We do use a selection of sustainable essential oils in our candles such as orange blossom, thyme and cinnamon, this allows for the wide breadth of fragrance notes in our range. We like to have the option to use both and believe that nature and science can work hand-in-hand. If you have any questions around essential oils and phthalate fragrances, we would love to hear from you. You can email the team on info@evermorelondon.com.