Sustainability, in its simplest definition, is the ability to maintain something at a given level without depleting the resources it depends on. For us, that means directing Northern Light in a way that supports the natural systems we rely on, rather than drawing them down and perpetuating a cycle of depletion.
Since the foundation of Northern Light, the goal has been the same: to make the purest candle light we can, in a way that can be sustained for generations rather than just this one. In practice, that means choosing the often longer, harder and slower path over the convenient one at almost every stage of business development.
Northern Light packaging is produced within Australia from recycled cardboard and printed with soy inks, all parcels are sealed with paper tape using a 100% natural gum resin. All products are pack directly into these recycled cartons with informative dividers also made from recycled card and also printed with soy ink, or within reusable cotton drawstring bags then within the cardboard carton and amply protected with shredded paper, or as we like to call it ‘fluff’. This fluff is the soft cloud that keeps your order safe even in the roughest of hands without any use of air filled plastic or GMO corn packaging puffs.
As Australia’s largest buyer of beeswax
and our melters run continuously. Powering that conventionally, from the grid, would carry a real carbon cost. Instead, our melters are heated by water circulated through a system fired by macadamia shells — a waste product available locally.
The beauty of this burning process is that very little carbon is released into the atmosphere thanks to the fine tuned parameters which ensure the shells are burnt into charcoal not ash.
By ensuring the macadamia shells are turned into charcoal (which is the carbon) this carbon is captured and placed back into the soil within the onsite organic gardens to further encourage the soil biodiversity.
It is actions like this combined with the planting of native trees onsite to further capture any potential carbon emissions that reflect the core values of Northern Light.
Northern Light has installed a multitude of rainwater tanks, to ensure NL beeswax will never come into contact with chemical laden town water. This isn’t incidental but intentional. Beeswax is a complex, fat based material, and lipophilic substances like this are known to absorb pesticide residues, heavy metals and other contaminants they come into contact with. Keeping our beeswax away from treated water is simply one step taken to keep it clean and ensure its purity.
Our onsite water collection system which includes our natural spring water fed well, and is filtered many times through a series of carbon, micron and uv filters as well as via sedimentation, charcoal, blue metal and very fine sand, every year our tanks and filters are cleaned and treated with organic tea tree tea.
Inventor of the beeswax tealight and home to the world’s first purpose built beeswax tealight machine, Northern Light once more increases our sustainability by relieving our staff of burdensome repetitive actions. Run upon compressed air and the finest robotic technology available, this wonderfilled invention saves our staff from one of Australia’s most common workplace injuries, Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). Our staff are treated in a supportive and respectful manner to ensure their satisfaction within the work environment. Northern Light is a joyful place to work where staff are encouraged to grow their unique skills and have a sustainable work-life balance.
All cardboard waste is attended to in such a way that ensures it will be recycled correctly.
Office items such as batteries and old ink cartridges are collected and recycled at the appropriate recycling centers.
All cardboard waste is sorted for correct recycling. Batteries and old ink cartridges from the office are collected and taken to appropriate recycling centres. NL Is working toward a future where the small amount of unavoidable soft plastic in our supply chain such as pallet wrap, shipping label backings are replaced with compostable alternatives.
The other end of reducing waste is designing around how a candle is used in the first place. We currently have three holder options, each built to be used again and again rather than thrown out after one burn.
Our Reusable tealight tins are made within Australia, purpose built for our beeswax tealights and designed to outlast the alternative entirely, with some of our customers have used the same tin for over eighteen years.
This matters because the common alternative is a disposable aluminium or plastic cup, made once, used once, and then in landfill. Manufacturing aluminium carries a heavy environmental footprint, so a tin that’s still working after two decades avoids a lot of single use waste over its lifetime.
For something with more table presence, our Light Bubbles are hand blown pyrex glass, built to not only hold a tealight but to let its light shine from every curved edge. Like the tins, they’re made to be lit again and again, not replaced each time.
Our Lightbowl ceramics are handmade and kiln fired to produce the finest quality porcelain that can stand the test of time. They hold a tealight directly, without needing a separate tin and the porcelain provides an soft illumination from the tealight within.
Commitment to the creation of a environmentally friendly product has always been at the forefront of Northern Light’s vision. Beeswax as a natural raw product is the most environmentally friendly and sustainable wax available.
Other wax types, including the paraffin sometimes blended into cheaper “soy or coconut” wax, go through intensive processing of heat, pressure and often chemical treatment to reach a usable state. Not to mention the traceability issues with these wax products.
Here at NL we supply pure Australian beeswax, sourced from Australian beekeepers we know personally and have long standing relationships with. This pure beeswax is handled carefully, free of adulteration, coloured dyes, additional scent or decorative paints. We stand firm in our value of being 100% pure beeswax.
We supply pure Australian beeswax, handled carefully, free of adulteration, colourants or decorative paint because we care about what happens when those additives burn. Fragrance, including essential oils, is one of the biggest factors here: research comparing scented and unscented candles consistently finds that adding fragrance oil, synthetic or natural, increases the VOCs released during burning. Terpenes such as limonene, common in “fresh” and citrus style fragrances, can react with ozone in the air to form secondary pollutants including formaldehyde. None of this is unique to synthetic fragrance, even naturally derived scent compounds behave this way once they’re burning.
Northern Light stands by our product in its intention, quality and sustainability, and in real consideration for the air that our valued customers, and their families, breathe.
As technology improves and our awareness is broadened new goals are set to keep Northern Light on path to higher levels of sustainability because we understand sustainability isn’t a box to be checked, it’s a moving target we keep attuning to as we continue to learn and grow. There’s more to do and NL would rather be honest about this than pretend our work is complete.
Many challenges are set before us, yet together we can create new systems, products and refined ethics to align with a sustainable, clean, green future for all.
Made by Australian Bees, Trees and Hands, Northern Light is a vision of sustainability.
Plus 30% off selected Light Bubble packs
15% off orders surpassing $150!
(Savings applied at checkout)
