FAQs

How long is your lead time and shipping?

We offer same or next-day weekday dispatch. Orders placed on Friday or Saturday may not be dispatched until Monday. The exception is for custom orders, but anything beyond our standard dispatch time is communicate before and at checkout.

We offer free UK shipping via Royal Mail 2^nd Class or Evri service on orders over £50, which offers 48 hour delivery in the UK, and within 3 working days is the average. Delivery time depends on Royal Mail. Upgrade is available at checkout if you wanted the Express 1^st Class service. Sometimes we may offer an alternative service such as Hermes, but this will not affect your shipping price or timeframe for delivery.

We use recycled/recyclable materials for packaging. Sometimes you may receive a parcel with plastic elements (i.e. non-eco bubble wrap), but this will always have been recycled from our own deliveries to avoid it going into the bin unused.

 

Do you ship internationally?

Yes we do! Postage is charged based on a standard parcel, but if shipping costs more than what we have charged you, we will absorb the excess and never ask you to pay more. You would be responsible for any import duties necessary once it reaches your country.

 

What if my parcel arrives damaged?

Please contact us within 48 hours and we will remedy the situation via refund or replacement. See more information about our Refunds policy here.

 

Are you candles vegan friendly?

Yes, we now use vegan Rapeseed wax, coconut wax, and soy wax in all of our candles and melts.

Rapeseed wax is an ideal sustainable eco-wax. Rapeseed is locally and ethically grown in the UK and EU and therefore reduces out carbon footprint. However the Ukraine war has put pressure on rapeseed stocks and we intermittently also using soy and coconut waxes.

Our reed diffusers remain vegan-friendly, and we will always pursue the vegan option wherever possible.

All of our products have cruelty-free and eco-friendly ingredients only. We plant a tree with every purchase you make. 

Our soy wax is sustainable, natural, biodegradable and Kosher, made from US-grown soy beans.

See more information about our candles on our About page.

 

Where are your candles made?

Our candles are homemade in Crystal Palace, London.

 

Do you use essential or fragrance oils for your scents?

We use mainly fragrance oils, but some of our candles do contain essential oils as well (essential oil candles are always indicated). For more information refer to our blog post which goes into more detail on the various ingredients and health benefits of different wax and oil types.

 

Do you offer gift-wrapping?

We do not offer gift wrapping as many of our unique candles are very fragile and need extra padding etc. However if you indicate that an item is a gift we will take extra care to make it more presentable, and you can also always request a personalised message to be included. Receipts are not included in the packages we send out as you will have received them digitally at the time of purchase.

 

Can we order personalised candles for Weddings and other events?

Yes absolutely! Have a browse of our products and get in touch at info@ralphsorchard.com to see specifically how we can tailor your bridesmaids and wedding favours for you.

 

Do you offer white-label candles and products?

Yes, we are happy to work with you on this basis. More information is available on our Wholesale page. Please get in touch at info@ralphsorchard.com

 

Do you offer wholesale prices?

Yes we do, more information is available on our Wholesale page. Please get in touch at info@ralphsorchard.com

 

Which candles are better for the environment?

This can be open to interpretation, but by and large, vegetable waxes (soy, coconut, rapeseed) are biodegradable and made from sustainable materials and therefore more eco friendly. Beeswax exploits bees but cleans the air around it when burned, and paraffin is a by-product of petrochemicals and lets off soot when burned. More information can be found on our blog Healthier Candles for Your Home.

 

Is it bad to burn candles around my baby, cat or dog?

There will always be some emission when burning a wick and burning something to create a flame. Even electric melt burners would emit fragrance into the air – the emission is after all why we burn scented candles. There are degrees of emission and some candles are definitely worse for your little loved ones (the toxins in paraffin) while beeswax would seem the best option in this scenario. Vegetable waxes do emit some particles but the amounts are much lower than paraffin wax.

Then there’s also the element of danger in terms of having a naked flame around animals or young humans – which is why guidance always states never to leave a lit candle unattended. Please refer to our tips for safely burning candles and wax melts in your home.

 

Can candles make you sick?

This again depends on the wax used to burn your candles, and also depends very much on the essential or fragrance oil used. At Ralph’s Orchard we only use phthalate-free fragrances, as phthalates are nasty plastic chemicals which can be found in almost everything from cosmetics to home fragrance but are known to be damaging to our health.

Then there are some people for whom scented candles, or specific scents can induce headaches. This is rare but it does happen and often times does depend on the type and strength of fragrance used. At Ralph’s Orchard we make our candles to the maximum strength the wax can contain and the fragrances may therefore set off headaches for some folks.

If you suffer from allergies, we always list allergens on the mandatory CLP labels on each home fragrance option. Common allergens found in fragrance and essential oils are linalool and limonene. There are preferable waxes for those with respiratory disease as well, and it helps to choose those with lower soot emissions.

 

Can candles get rid of bad smells such as dog smells and toilets?

Absolutely! Or at the very least a good scented candle will mask the smell until it goes away on its own 😊

 

Can candles heat a room?

Well it’s a naked flame so it definitely gives of warmth, but you’d need to light rather a lot to actually heat a room. Radiators do the job much better and are a safer option than hundreds of little flames in your living area.

 

Can candles keep bugs away?

Yes candles can be insect repellents. Specific smells such as citronella are known to repel bugs. Citronella is a bit of a divisive smell however, and many people don’t like it. There are other lovely smells out there which do the trick as well though – for example Ylang Ylang is a beautiful exotic floral. Other great options are Peppermint, Lavender, Basil, Eucalyptus, Clove and most citrus scents like Lemon and Bergamot. Sweet florals will typically entice them though!

 

Which candles burn the longest?

Vegetable and beeswax candles burn far longer than paraffin candles, giving your candles a much longer life.

 

How are your candles made?

We melt our wax, sometimes adding a touch of organic raw coconut oil, then allow it to cool to just the right temperature before adding our fragrance oils. This allows the oils to blend completely into all parts of the wax (meaning your candles will emit scent from start to finish) while retaining the strong fragrance (add it when the temperature is still too high and it may alter or eliminate a lot of the smells). Then we add it to our containers which already have our organic cotton wicks ready to go. We then allow the candles to cure for several days (the longer the better!) in a room without fluctuating temperature to allow the wax and fragrance to set into the beautiful candles we offer in our shop.

 

Wax melts or candles?

Or both! This is such a personal choice and depends very much on what you are after. Candles can be decorative when not lit (see our Unique Candles) and when they are lit they throw lovely little flickering dancing flames making for a very cosy or romantic ambience. They bring warmth to your home/dining table.

Wax melts can emit much stronger scents, so if it’s just fragrance you are after, this may be the option for you. You will still need unscented tea lights though to warm your oil burner so the wax melts, so just make sure you get tea lights made from natural waxes (you can buy them here), as burning a paraffin tea light for a natural wax melt would cancel all your efforts for cleaner air in your home!

 

Are your candles CLP compliant?

Yes, we're fully CLP compliant – all our candles have CLP stickers on them or on their tags.

 

Are upcycled vessels safe to use as candles?

All the vessels are stress and heat-tested, and we use the vessels as candles to test them ourselves before making them new again and putting them on the marketplace.

Included are safety instructions for any upcycled vessel on the recommended maximum burn time and advice not to allow the wicks to burn right to the bottom in the case of some vessels, along with standard candle safety advisory.

Vegetable/natural waxes burn at a much lower temperature than paraffin wax and so do not heat the containers as much, which is why in upcycled containers its best not to burn the candle right down to the end and always leave a small amount of wax.