Planting Sustainable Candles:
Happy Earth Day 2025 to all my fellow readers. Do you remember going to school and sitting with the classroom light off sometime in the afternoon for a few minutes to celebrate this day when you were younger? Did your school practice Earth Day traditions in a gymnasium instead? Regardless of the location the meaning behind the impact cries out the same message: "Do what you can to help the Earth". Years after the last highschool bell rang, I've kept the same energy in our approach towards making Earth Day count not just for the day but with every flicker of light accompanying our sustainable candles.
Candle Forests and Earth Day
In our blog regarding "How To Plant Trees With Candles" I go over exactly what global impact deforestation has had globally. We partnered with theGoodAPI after finding their app listed in the Shopify App store. However the larger reasoning why I was even looking in the first place revolves around my assocation with a sustainability consulting company called GreenStep Solutions. Since joining their team my mind has been focused on not just growing our business and interest in sustainable candles but also providing sustainability relief in areas where we can impact including tree planting.
Since October 2024, your incredible support has helped us plant 33 trees in Kilifi and Kwali, Africa, and remove 52 plastic bottles from our shared environment.
That being said, our commitment extends beyond our online orders, reaching our local communities. Recently, I joined the inspiring GreenStep Event in Kelowna for a vital Stream Clean Up, witnessing firsthand the importance of local action. It was exciting to visit the beauitful city of Kelowna for such a special time spent improving the surrounding conditions. I even witnessed a local resident pick up their own tools and help us out, just because they saw us there and wanted to do something!
The Growing Partnership with TheGoodAPI
At a fly-over level, theGoodSprout API reflects the UN Sustainable Development Goals including
- End poverty in all its forms
- Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth
- Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
- Conserve and sustainable use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (and more)
They partnered wtih Shopify, SquareSpace and others to offer a dashboard service that allows online stores to promote their passion towards a sustainable future just like we're doing at Candles Cartel.
Order A Candle Plant A Tree: How It Works
Your sustainable candles orders will lead to the planting of 3 mangrove trees in Kenya per order. We contribute a % of each order towards tree planting because reforestation efforts revive natural habitats, improve coral reef health, support local livelihoods and aid in the fight against climate change by extracting CO2 from the air. Trees are planted by EarthLungs Reforestation Foundation & Veritree in partnership with thegoodapi.com.
The Road to 100 🌳 Trees
As of the writing of this blog we're at 33 🌳s planted and are looking to plant at least 67 more before the end of the year. That would translate to approx. 32 more orders for us and we're keeping good pace to accomplish this. I'd only ask that you spread the message for us to help us get there this year.
The Plastic Bottle Pick Up w/ Sustainable Candles
We contribute a % of each our sustainable candles orders towards 10 plastic bottles removed within 50 km of the ocean or ocean bound waterway per order. This reduces plastic pollution and the plastic collected by the community is exchanged for social and financial benefits helping alleviate poverty. Plastic pollution is reduced in collaboration with GoodAPI and Plastic Bank.
So not only do you get the scent you were looking for with our sustainable candles but you also create a positive impact on the environment without having to change anything your doing.
Kelowna Stream Clean Up
After taking the 5 hour flight to sunny Kelowna and meeting up with everyone that was part of the event, I witnessed the amount of plastic and debris removed from our local waterways which reinforced our commitment to tackling pollution at all levels. Just like plantnig a tree in Kenya can have its own ripple effect, so can local action to help sustain what we have left of our environment.
Sustainability Matters
We call our candles "sustainable candles" because of what goes into making them. All of our vessels are made from concrete which can be easily disposed of or even re-used without hurting the environment. The wax were currently using is organic coconut wax for candle making and we ship from local suppliers to reduce our carbon emissions and its the same story for our scents.
Not only that but we also use Carbon Neutral Shipping a report how much pollution we avoided with our orders to anyone visiting the site.
Have questions about our "Sustainable Candles" that weren't answered here? Have a suggestion for our next video? Reach out and email me at akeem@candlescartel.com :)
Check out Our New YouTube Channel Here!! We are releasing shorts right now and will be coming out with a podcast soon. It's definitely a vibe.
Just Light it! - Candles Cartel supports all Canadians, Americans and all throughout the world striving for Mental Health, Mental Clarity and Stress Relief through our candles and communication.
🙏🏿 TY for reading