While still working my agency job during the pandemic, I started making candles from home. I've always loved being crafty, and since I'm simultaneously obsessed with candles and scents (and the feelings they invoke), it seemed natural for me to try making them myself.

Tbh, I didn't fully realize that there's a real art to making candles. Such as the importance of wick size/vessel size, that you need to heat your wax to a specific temperature before adding in your scent so that the fragrance oil binds and mixes completely with the melted wax, and that your candle can sweat *ew (I swear, look it up), and so much more. Some of my friends reported issues with their candles, such as tunneling (the worst). 

Fast forward to today, and I'm happy to report that my candle-making skills have dramatically increased while the number of accidental wax spills on my kitchen floor has significantly decreased. See the correlation below:

SKILLS > SPILLS, yay! My husband, an engineer, would be proud of my chart skillzz... and our cleaner kitchen floors! 

Besides learning how to make a perfectly aesthetic candle, I also learned A LOT about the gross (toxic) ingredients used in most commercial candles and how unsustainable the industry sadly is. 

Each time I made a batch of candles, I felt nauseated. I knew it couldn't be the wax because I only worked with coconut and soy wax. Side note: Most candles in the market use paraffin wax, a byproduct of petroleum that is toxic to humans (don't even get me started on the sustainability aspect here). *Yep, sorry, this also includes your nice and fancy Diptyque candle. Trust me; I was also very sad to learn about that one.

But hold up, paraffin wax isn't the only villain in conventional candles. The fragrance industry is entirely unregulated by the FDA, which means we have NO idea what we are inhaling when the delicious smell of that Glazed Cinnamon Bun candle from Bath and Body permeates our home.

I realized that the fragrances that I was using were making me sick. So I set out on a mission to create the perfect clean, non-toxic, sustainable candle that STILL smells like your favorite dessert, and Everly was born. 

So, you may ask yourself… how is Everly different from other candles out there regarding sustainability? 

I knew from first-hand experience that my candle habits were wasteful. I'd finish a candle and then either keep the vessel as a pencil holder or throw it out (I only have so many pencils).

I started wondering, "Is there a better way to do candles while NOT contributing to the 60 tons of household waste that are produced EVERY second"? This is a deeply concerning reality.

Everly's Clean Candle Refill Kits give you the chance to refill your empty candle jars and are packaged in compostable materials, so virtually no waste is created - plus your candle habit gets a lot cleaner. With our Refill Kits, you can either give new life to a leftover vessel of your choice or choose one of ours to be your forever vessel. 

Our Refill Kits were created to be a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable way to enjoy candles. 

Our goal is to redefine the candle category to make refills and zero-waste the industry standard. We know that tackling candles is just one small step in the right direction, but we also believe that we can all make a massive difference if we collectively work towards improving our world. Join us in our mission to make sustainability + clean ingredients the norm in the candle industry.

This is just the beginning of our contribution. Thanks so much for being part of Everly with us. 

Xo, 

-Alejandra