Great Green Gift: Pure & Natural Candles (+Giveaway)

My husband can, and will, attest to my undying love for candles. So when I first found out about the toxins that are realeased when traditional, petroleum-based paraffin candles are burned, I was more than a little disappointed, not to mention worried about the number of candles we’ve burned over the years.

Lucky for me and my eco-savvy readers, companies are taking notice to green consumers’ concerns and developing healthier alternatives. The Chesapeake Bay Candle Co. is one of these companies. In addition to their standard offerings, they have created Pure & Natural candle line that uses soy wax, lead-free cotton wicks and recycled packaging.

They sent me a sample to try in the Cardamom & Clove fragrance, and I love it! It fills the room with fragrance after about 20 minutes, and the smell lingers. We will often light candles in the evening just to freshen up the smell of our room, and these are great for that purpose. And since I am such a lover of design, I have to mention the beautiful packaging. The cover is simple and understated, but once you remove it, the bottom of the box is so beautiful you’ll probably want to keep it on your dresser for jewelry or other small knick knacks. Even though it is recyclable, something tells me it will find a second life before winding up in the recycling bin.

They are also an inexpensive green gift that your loved ones will appreciate, and something like this is also appropriate for co-workers and acquaintances. Show them that going green is not only easy, it’s fragrant, beautiful and inexpensive.

Why It’s Green:

• Made of soy wax
• Uses lead-free cotton wicks
• Comes in recycled, recyclable packaging

Price: $9.99/ea. Also avaialable exclusively at Target.

Want to win?

I’ve also got two great Pure & Natural candles to give away to one lucky reader. The winner will receive 2 candles — Cardamom & Clove and White Ginger & Ivy. Simply visit the Chesapeake Bay Candle website and leave a comment here about something you liked or learned. Do this by 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 to enter.

Want to enter more than once? Boost your chances of winning by completing one or more of the tasks on this list. Please leave a separate comment for each entry:

1. Just like you, I love entering giveaways. I’m trying to win a Wii from Classy Mommy (Mama wants Wii Fit to help her get in shape!). Visit the giveaway page and vote for me — Jennae Petersen. Then leave a comment letting me know that you voted and you’ll get a whopping FIVE additional entries in my candle giveaway! Yeah, I want to win that bad!
2. If you haven’t already, sign up for Green Your Decor’s email updates by 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 25, 2008. You must verify your email subscription to be eligible. After you sign up, FeedBurner will send you a verification email. Please do not ignore it — your entry will be invalid if you do not verify. All current subscribers are eligible to win. And there’s no need to leave a comment letting me know you subscribe by email. I’ll know you’re a subscriber
3. If you’d prefer to receive your updates via RSS, sign up for the GYD feed. Then please leave a comment letting me know that you’ve done so, and be sure to include your email address. RSS subscribers are anonymous otherwise.
4. Blog about GreenYourDecor.com and post a link to your blog entry here.
5. Stumble or give a thumbs up to any page at GreenYourDecor.com via StumbleUpon and post a link to your SU profile to verify your thumbs up.

So that means every participant can receive up to 10 entries. You have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 25, 2008, to enter. A winner will be chosen via Random.org and contacted via email. Good luck everyone!