In this episode, Jill Kosdrosky shares how she became interested in clean candles...with a few bites of shrimp in 2004 that led to repeated headaches and allergic reactions to everything from lipstick to perfume, even though she'd never had a problem before that day.
Seeking to avoid all allergens (okay, toxins), she discovered that many ingredients in our everyday products are unregulated and undisclosed, hiding under an unassuming word... fragrance.
Often listed as “fragrance” or “parfum” on ingredients labels, scent is rarely explained. Yet fragrance recipes can contain hundreds of chemicals (some safe, some unsafe, and some untested), all legally permitted to be hidden from ingredients lists. As part of FDA regulations, anything considered a company’s trade secret does not have to be disclosed, and “fragrance/parfum” is often a protected trade secret.
The bottom line is that we consumers aren’t told what ingredients are in our scented products, and if we ask, we’re not guaranteed an answer. Further, the fragrance in scented candles, including soy wax candles, is almost never disclosed. When's the last time you saw a full ingredients list on your candle?
As a former engineer and amid a thriving banking career, I decided in 2019 to switch gears completely and launch Aspen Clean Candle to give candle lovers a healthier choice.
