My Favourite UK Beeswax Candles For An Eco-Friendly Glow

Create a natural, eco-friendly, and sustainable glow with my favourite ethically sourced beeswax candles, direct from UK beekeepers.

Here in the UK, we love our candles. So much so that we collectively spend more than £90million on candles every year.

Whilst there is nothing more atmospheric than relaxing by candlelight on a dark autumn or winter evening, there’s nothing that quite kills the mood when you realise that most standard candles tend to be made from paraffin wax. Paraffin wax is a by-product of petroleum oil, a fossil fuel that drives the climate crisis.

As well as the climate crisis, candles are also linked to health problems. Scented candles in particular are linked to indoor air pollution, which can cause breathing problems and other health issues.

Don’t worry, though! You don’t have to give up romantic candlelit suppers or baths. There are eco-friendly candle choices out there that will give you that sustainable glow. If you’re vegan, soy candles make for a great eco-swap. And beeswax candles can also be a more eco-friendly option.

Why Are Beeswax Candles Better?

Beeswax candles can make for a great, eco-friendly alternative to paraffin-based candles. For a start, beeswax is a natural and renewable product derived from bees – it is the wax that honeybees secrete and use to create their honeycombs.

You may be wondering how ethical this extraction is. Small beekeepers who sell beeswax use ethical means of beeswax extraction to keep their business going. It wouldn’t be sustainable for them to harm their bees, so bees are not harmed or killed in order to extract the beeswax.

Of course, larger companies may not be so diligent or ethical. If you are shopping for candles from companies other than those listed below, always check that the company uses ethical means of beeswax extraction that do not harm the bees.

Beeswax also has a high melting point, compared to other waxes. This means beeswax candles burn for longer than paraffin ones. Beeswax is also clean burning – emitting no toxins, and very little to no soot or smoke. This means it can be a better choice for those who suffer from asthma, other lung conditions, or allergies to standard candles.

Beeswax also undergoes no chemical processing. And provided it has no artificial fragrance oils added to it, then it is even compostable.

My Favourite UK Beeswax Candles For Every Occasion

Here are my favourite fossil-fuel-free beeswax candles – all direct from small beekeepers – so you can enjoy a cosy glow whilst ensuring the sustainability of your candles:

Beeswax Candles In Jars

Looking for a pretty beeswax candle in a jar? Five Bees Yard on Etsy is the place to go, with this candle coming in at £17.

As the 3rd generation of beekeepers based in Herefordshire, Five Bees Yard takes pride in keeping things as simple as possible and as close to nature as they can. In their three apiaries, they keep their bees using generations of experience and applying exactly the same methods as their grandparents did.

As well as honey, Five Bees Yard handmakes its range of candles made from pure beeswax. These pretty jars come in a range of scents, and to reduce wastes they can be refilled with refill candles from Five Bees Yard.

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Beeswax Birthday Cake Number Candles

If a birthday isn’t a birthday without a big number on the cake, then don’t worry, you can still have your cake and eat it. Five Bees Yard handmakes these amazing eco-friendly beeswax birthday cake number candles at £4.20 a candle.

These non-drip natural and sustainable candles have been handmade using Five Bees Yard’s own beeswax, using only raw beeswax and unbleached cotton. What’s more, there’s no need for a plastic holder – the candle can be placed directly onto your cake.

With a long burn time, you can store these away and use them again for another birthday.

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Beeswax Birthday Candles

Looking to ditch petroleum-based birthday cake candles? Beeswax Alchemy (available on Etsy) hand-dips their beeswax candles in pairs with beeswax from their own apiaries, or apiaries from local West Country beekeepers. This allows them to authenticate the quality and ethical provenance of their beeswax.

Their beautiful beeswax birthday cake candles (£6 for 10) are all handmade, using an ancient hand-dipping technique. This means there may be a slight variation in the size of each candle, but that just adds to the rustic charm.

The candles are non-drip, so you won’t end up with any wax on your delicious cake. And as each candle lasts for around one hour, these candles should last for quite a few birthdays!

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Pillar Candles

As well as birthday cake candles, Beeswax Alchemy also makes beautiful hand-rolled pillar candles (£12 for 2). Here, they clean the beeswax collected from their hives and filter it. The wax is then pressed into sheets before being hand-rolled into 100% pure beeswax candles.

With a burn time of around 12 hours, that’s a whole lot of cosy candlelit evenings or baths to be had from just one candle.

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Tealight Candles

Finally, if you are looking for beeswax tealightss then try Dorset-based Bee Mine (available on Etsy from £6.15 for 2, with free delivery). As small beekeepers, the beeswax is sourced from their own bees.

To help reduce waste, once you’ve burned your tealights syou can reuse the metal tealight holders by ordering tealight refills. These arrive naked – without the metal casing – ready for you to drop right into the old case and use again.

The wicks are made of pure cotton and dipped with beeswax, rather than paraffin. The candles are then packaged in fully recyclable cardboard packaging, free from plastic. Bee Mine says most orders will be sent in a letterbox parcel, so there’s no need to wait for the postman.

More Sustainable Candle Resources

If candles are your thing, I’ve got more sustainable candle resources for you:

• If you want to try your hand at making your own beeswax tealight candles, then I’ve got an easy guide for that!
• And if you want to recycle or reuse your old candle jars, here’s how to easily remove leftover candle wax from jars.