Exploring issues in sustainability and design within apothecary candles made by Yankee Candle

“We are at a unique stage in our history. Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet, and never before have we had the power to do something about that. Surely we all have a responsibility to care for our Blue Planet. The future of humanity and indeed, all life on earth, now depends on us.” – David Attenborough 2019

Yankee Candle was started by 16-year-old American student Mike Kittredge in 1969, who made a candle as a present for his mother out of bits he found around the house. He created a wick from some string, melted down household wax and a red wax crayon and poured it into an old glass milk jar. The first apothecary candle was made. Kittredge’s neighbour heard of his entrepreneurial gift giving and offered to buy the candle of him. With this, he then has enough money to buy resources for his mother’s candle and to make one more to sell. He kept going and going and Yankee Candle slowly grew into the multi-million-dollar company it is now. (Yankee Candle, 2020) At this stage, Yankee candle was very sustainable, with most of the materials being upcycled and repurposed to make a new product, something I think we all should do a bit more of. However, as the company got bigger and the demand for the product got higher, the company used more new and raw materials and a result got more and more unethical.

By 1973, Yankee Candle had 12 employees. Not many compared to the 6000 they have today, and in 1974, launched their first scented apothecary candles (jar candles) to the market. The fragrances included Bayberry, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Pine, and French Vanilla and are still in circulation today (Yankee Candle, 2020). The first logo showed where the candles were first made in mass at an old paper mill in Holyoke, Massachusetts, which was adhered to the front of their new scented candle range. At this point, the building was powered by the mills using water and steam (Masslive, 2019) – also depicted on the logo, which looking back, is quite a sustainable way to get energy in comparison to today.

In 1983, consumer demand grew so much, that they moved to a new larger premises where they were able to make candles and gain more and more customers with it being on a main road. That year, company sales reached $1 million, and the following year built a factory. The year 1984 was a significant year in US history. It saw the greatest economic recession since the great depression due to a new monetary policy Introduced by President Ronald Regan (Sablik, 2013). The national employment rate was 7.3% (Kilborn, 1984) almost double the rate of 3.6% in 2019 (US Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2019). So, for a business selling non-essential items, Yankee Candle was doing significantly well, however, due to the development of industrialisation and factories becoming more machine based, its likely Yankee Candle added to the rise in unemployment rates within the production and design process.

The American Dream is a big part of American culture and is always intrinsically ingrained into lifestyle’s and politics when during a recession. The aim is to motivate the public to get people back into work, and to never give up on the dream of becoming wealthy, because one day you might get it. This makes people believe that if you work hard enough you can achieve prosperity and wealth (BBC Bitesize, 2014). With that wealth you can buy every materialistic item you have ever wished for, which in turn is building up the economy. Yankee candle uses the wholesome story of a teenage boy making candles in his kitchen for his mother to get people to believe in their brand and spend their hard-earned money supporting someone who has achieved this dream. Essentially, buying the candle gives them hope that they can achieve this too. The American dream runs through the apothecary candles with Yankee Candle choosing to use very similar jars to the original milk jar used by the 16-year-old boy in 1969 (Yankee Candle, 2020). This is a great subliminal marketing technique used to link back to the company’s grass root beginnings and make Yankee Candle appear to be an authentic, ethical brand that people want to spend their money on.

Considering the design of the jar hasn’t changed much, the same cannot be said for the labels. Each label has a piece of imagery that the scent is inspired by and based on (Yankee Candle, 2020). For the scent “Ciderhouse”, previously named “Macintosh” Yankee Candle use imagery of fresh apples, that twined with the deep red colour of the wax, suggests a festive Christmas candle which it is.

In 1994, Yankee Candle moved to an even bigger factory location in Watley, Massecuites (Yankee Candle, 2020). They are still here today allowed a local YouTube page into the factory to show the manufacturing process. In the video showing exactly how they manufacture their candles, the first stage in the process, involves mixing the ingredients. The wax is drawn into the factory into large batch tanks from the larger tanks outside. The wax is then mixed with fragrance and additives. Next, the wicks are inserted into the empty jar and glued into place. Wax is then poured into the jars as they slowly move along the conveyor belt. Then a piece of plastic is placed on to of the jar, with the wick poking through the middle, to ensure the wick dries completely straight and centralised. The Candles are then cooled over multiple conveyors and to maintain the classic yankee candle aesthetic, another small amount of was is then added to smooth over any irregularities or imperfections. After this, the jars are labelled and are then carefully boxed before being shipped to the 24 countries Yankee Candle supply goods to (MassLive, 2019).

I believe factory processing probably isn’t the most sustainable practice due to the amount of energy used to operate the machines. Not to mention that wax at room temperature is a solid. In order to keep the wax stored in a large tank outside requires a lot of energy as the wax needs liquid and readily available at any time and kept warm 24/7. It is also economically unsustainable, with many believing that ‘the machine’ took away their livelihoods. Shipping candles all over the world, comes at quite a big cost to the environment too, and considering the candles are heavy, and very delicate, means less can be transported at once meaning more journeys and a larger impact on the environment. Yankee Candle has not disclosed how exactly they transport their products to Europe, however a good sign that they are conscious of their carbon emissions, is the fact they opened a factory in Czech Republic in 2016 which supplies the whole of Europe with candles. The point of doing this might however be to cut down trade and shipping costs from the US. In the first 30 weeks, the factory produced and manufactured 5 million apothecary candles supplied to its European neighbours including the 9 shops in the UK. (Yankee Candle, 2020)

To get new products out on the market, a system of product development takes place with members of the Yankee Candle management team. A core committee meets weekly to discuss new ideas and other issues. The six-person team is made up of people from all functional sectors of the business including marketing, retailing and wholesaling. In the meeting, new products are discussed around a table, with ideas coming from all levels of employment, and even customers. However, inspiration for new ideas, usually comes from trade shows, trends, and marketing feedback. The committee also regularly discuss new seasonal additions to the candle collection with the Christmas collection being such a success (Elizabeth J Wilson, 2005), another 4 candles were added to the collection this year (Yankee Candle, 2020).

Yankee Candle’s use of materials, includes, glass, cotton in the form of a wick, paraffin wax, plastic, adhesive, fragrance and Labels. There are sustainable alternatives for all of these items but unfortunately, they cost more and Yankee Candle typically tend not to use any of them. With Yankee candle being one of the largest producers of candles in the world, there is very little information available online about how yankee candle source their glassware. They have 3 main types of jar offering different size candles.

The small jar weighs in at 104g and is sold for £8.99 (0.086p per g). The Medium Jar weighs 411g and costs £19.99 (0.048p per g) and the large Jar weighs 623g and costs £23.99 (0.038p per g) (Yankee Candle, 2020). Glass itself is controversial due to environmental impacts. Assuming their glass isn’t made from recycled materials; in terms of production, glass uses a lot of natural sand of a certain type that is rough around the edges and comes from river sandbanks and beds. Excessive glass production can see these riverbanks collapsing and ecosystems destroyed. Glass is made using extremely high temperatures and a form of combustion powered by fossil fuels adding masses of CO2 into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. Sand is melted down in a furnace which is unable to be turned off and is lit continuously for 15-18 years (Kellogg, 2018). Not only is this alarming because of the number of raw materials it takes to maintain a furnace for that long and the environmental implications that has, but it also means that the glass production industry is always 15-18 years behind in terms of technology and sustainability than any other industry in the world (Johansen, 2020) In terms on transportation, glass is heavier and more fragile than other materials such as plastic and aluminium meaning less of the final glass jar product can be transported at once. This results in more journeys needed to transport a certain amount of the product to its destination. More petrol or diesel is then burnt, and more carbon emissions added to the atmosphere.

Plastic and the damaging effects of it on the environment, has been highlighted and reported on vigorously throughout the last 5 years more than ever before and as a result, has started to create global movements to combat the “war on plastic”. These movements include cutting down your consumerism habits and avoiding plastic and unsustainable products as much as possible. It is called being “Zero Waste” and is more of a lifestyle choice than anything. Much like being Vegan or Vegetarian. Another notable movement is the “Blue planet effect” named after a BBC production about the natural world narrated by Climate Activist and presenter David Attenborough. In the programme, they highlight the strain the natural world is under and how the actions of humans have negatively affected animals and their ecosystems. This caused mass public outrage and people all over the world stood up in unity to demand change. As a result, single use plastic items like plastic drinking straws – were banned in most countries and people’s attitude to their plastic consumption shifted. “Nearly 9 in 10 people (88%) who saw the last episode of The BBC’s Blue Planet II about the effect of plastics on our oceans, have changed their behaviour since. 60% of us now choose a refillable water bottle and coffee cup more than we did” (Waitrose and Partners). However, critics and other activists say that this is not enough and more needs to be done to fight the war on single use plastic.

Yankee Candle’s consumption and production of single use plastics are incredibly damaging. Not only do they use plastic to act as sealants in their jar lid’s, which is single use unless customers decide to repurpose the jar, but they also use a small circular single use piece of plastic to package certain candles and wax melts. These are called Shrink Sleeves and are used to prevent people tampering with products and end up being safe for customer consumption. Some of these can be biodegradable, but as yankee candle states on their products, their plastic sealants cannot be recycled or broken down over time when they reach landfill.

Another poor use of materials chosen by Yankee Candle, is their use of see-through plastic labels. In order for the Yankee Candle Jar to be recycled, all traces of Wax and plastic packaging has to be removed (Yankee Candle, 2020) – if not, this can contaminate the whole bin of household recycling and when sent to recycling centres as a load, can result in the whole load just be placed into landfill (Johansen, 2020). Then, there’s the notion that the label itself that has to be peeled off and placed in the general waste bin too. With an average of 200 million sales per year (Yankee Candle, 2020) – that’s 200 million plus single use pieces of plastic going straight into landfill or ending up in the ocean per year.

Cotton is used in candles through the burning of wicks. The wicks are lit and if treated properly, burn down slowly to melt the surrounding wax and release a charming scent into any given room. Not all wicks are made of cotton, the more sustainable option these days are hemp wicks however these don’t perform as well as a rule and are much wider which might not be as aesthetically pleasing as the typical thin, cotton option. The issue with cotton, is that it takes a lot of water in the cultivation process. The most common cultivation system is the flood-or-furrow irrigation system, which is the easiest to install, and the cheapest, but the least efficient option in terms of water usage. More efficient irrigation systems are more expensive to run and install and some cotton farms, if not irrigated properly can cause soil salinisation which can pollute areas of water downstream and cause other areas or farmland to be polluted and abandoned. Cotton production is also damaging to environments due the high use of unsafe pesticides, used to kill of insects. 15% of cotton yield is damaged due to insects and as a result the cotton industry uses 25% of the global consumption of insecticides. This has a damaging effect on many areas of the environment, mainly human consumption. 13% of the cotton industry is treated with pesticides through aerial spraying which has been known to contaminate surrounding villages. 52% of the worlds cotton fields are sprayed by hand, which is cheap and effective but the workers who carry out this role, are regularly poisoned meaning the ethics of this industry are questionable. This also causes a lot of biodiversity problems. (Kooistra and Termorshuizen, 2006)

Paraffin wax is one of the cheaper waxes extracted as a by-product of the crude oil purification process. (Banyan Tree, 2018). Crude oil is made up of a combination of hydrocarbons formed from the decomposed, and crushed remains of marine animals over millions of years. A process called fractional distillation separates the oil into fractions, all of which have different slightly different boiling points (BBC Bitesize, 2020). A wax substance is created from this method, which then goes through further processing methods to be turned into other useful products including candles (Banyan Tree, 2018). In 2009, two researchers, Dr. Ruhullah Massoudi and SC State alumnus Amid Hamid, looked into and tested various brands of paraffin wax, comparing it to soybean wax candles. The candles were non-scented, non-pigmented and used no dyes and were placed in a controlled environment where they were each burnt for 6 hours.

Once burnt, the gasses collected in the burning chamber for each type of wax candle were tested. The results showed that the gasses given off by the burning of paraffin wax revealed some undesired chemicals, reported to cause harmful effects to humans. “The paraffin candles we tested released unwanted chemicals into the air. For a person who lights a candle every day for years or just uses them frequently, inhalation of these dangerous pollutants drifting in the air could contribute to the development of health risks like cancer, common allergies and even asthma,” – Massoudi. According to Massoudi (a chemistry professor in the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences) the undesired chemicals omitted from the paraffin wax candles, were omitted because the candles are by-products of the crude oil refinery process. He added that “none of the vegetable-based candles produced toxic chemicals” (Frequent use of candles produces unwanted chemicals, 2009). Whilst this investigation was performed and controlled professionally, and is a written piece of academic work, there have been instances whereby other agencies have discredited these claims with the European Candle Association stating that the research study “provided no data for review, and their conclusions are based on unsupported claims. No reputable scientific study has ever shown any candle wax, including paraffin, to be harmful to human health.” (ECA, 2009). Therefore, it is now down to the customer to decide, who they believe and support and weather buying from Yankee Candle, who use Paraffin wax in all their candle, is worth it.

On their website, Yankee Candle have released a sustainability commitment which states that they are committed to “delivering distinctive products and experiences in a sustainable and socially responsible way for our customers, communities and employees - now and for generations to come”. They plan to do this by focusing on their “responsible use of energy, [their] minimisation of waste and identification of recycling and reuse solutions, partnerships with responsible suppliers and providing more sustainable packaging and products.” (Yankee Candle, 2020). They say this with no actual proof, or examples of the work they’re doing. This with the choice of materials they use and how this is distributed, make me sceptical about the authenticity of these claims, and I personally think, that yankee candle rely too much on their wholesome image to gain the customer’s choice, and think the consumer isn’t questioning where their products are made and sourced from enough to be able to implement this change.

Yankee Candle decided to increase holiday sales this year by starting Facebook video and photo ads to increase black Friday and cyber-Monday sales. Its revenue increased by 65% compared to the previous year’s campaign. The aim of the campaign was to boost brand awareness, acquire new customers and encourage previous customers to come return and make a purchase online. Facebook uses 7 different advertising methods which are each designed to bring in different target audiences.

Dynamic ads personalise ads without any manual work, e.g. using the users first name with in the ad, to get their attention and feel like the company is talking to and targeting them specifically. Carousel Ads show up to 10 pictures or videos in one single ad giving the customer the opportunity to swipe through the imagery and have the chance to be persuaded to buy a product 10 times. Photo ads inspire the audience. They want to feel like they can see themselves using or owning the product. Video ads capture the attention of the user by combining moving image and sound. Automatic placement ads optimise where and when certain ads appear and who to. Look alike audiences are people with a similar demographic to the brand’s typical customer base, who haven’t interacted with the brand before. This targets new customers, whose age, gender, and race, are typical of the brand’s target audience. Finally, the use of Facebook pixel, allows brands to monitor and measure the success of such ads helping brand assess the need for further action or not. Yankee Candle used all of the methods mentioned above according the Facebook article, with the Manager of digital marketing Tony Conroy saying “We will continue to use Facebook for ad campaigns when we are trying to regain lapsed consumers. We found the most effective way to do this was to show shoppers an ad creative that felt new to them, made us seem relevant and elevated our brand from when they last shopped with us.” (Facebook For Business, 2020)

Considering yankee candle products are quite expensive and fall into more of a luxury candle category, they keep their customers excited by hosting seasonal sales and discounts with large jars being reduced to £12 (Yankee Candle, 2020) making the customer feel like they’re about to score a good deal. It’s a clever strategy that maintains traffic to their site all year round.

Another one of their marketing strategies is personalisation. The gift industry is worth upwards of £6.9 billion per year with the personalisation of gifts adding an extra £1billion per year increasing with popularity over the past 10 years (Large Format Review, 2020). With yankee candle, you can personalise the labels for any occasion, mother’s day, birthdays and Christmas - which makes them perfect gifts for women aged 21- 60 which is yankee candle’s target audience. Research shows that customers are willing to pay on average 7% more for personalised gifts, (Large Format Review, 2020) with yankee candle charging an extra £1 for personalisation which can include an image and two lines of text of the customer’s choice (Yankee Candle, 2020). The reason for this, is because customers believe that a present is more thoughtful when personalised with a nice message. Linking this back to Yankee Candle and the American Dream, via personalisation, Yankee Candle’s customers are essentially doing the same thing Mike Kittredge did when he was 16. Giving something personal to a family member as a gift. The fact yankee candle are offering this service, allows customers to identify with the brand, and see their images and their words on something they might have loved for over 5 decades, making them continue to come back time and time again.

In conclusion, consumers who buy Yankee Candle products, buy them because they know what they’re going to get. Yankee Candle does what it says on the tin. You get a large variety of scents to choose from and you know that every candle if going to be packed full of fragrance that will fill your house. What customers don’t expect, is for their lovely, nice smelling candle, to damage the planet. Yankee Candle don’t take enough responsibility for what happens to their apothecary candles and the end of their life. They advise customers on their website to recycle or reuse the jars with many people probably not wanting to go to the effort of doing so. The design failures in terms of sustainability are almost endless. Each unsustainable material they use has a more viable and more sustainable alternative which is more expensive. I suppose the question I would ask Yankee Candle is, what do they care more about? The environment or the bottom line? Instead, they settle for the more aesthetic option or an option that can look exactly the same in every single instance.

References

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Figure 1: Yankee Candle. (2020) Available at: https://www.yankeecandle.co.uk Accessed 20/12/2020

Figure 2: Yankee Candle. (2020) Available at: https://www.yankeecandle.co.uk Accessed 20/12/2020

Figure 3: Yankee Candle. (2020) Available at: https://www.yankeecandle.co.uk Accessed 20/12/2020

Figure 4: Yankee Candle. (2020) Available at: https://www.yankeecandle.co.uk Accessed 20/12/2020

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Figure 10: Yankee Candle. (2020) Available at: https://www.yankeecandle.co.uk Accessed 20/12/2020