Making fragrance
better for all
Our passion for fragrance and fairness burns strongly. It empowers us to change the industry for the wellbeing of everyone it touches, from the farmers who grow our ingredients to the people who burn our candles.
Self-care with a conscience
For us, it's not enough that our products are ethical, sustainable and smell incredible. Our true aim is awareness, advocacy and action.
By sharing the stories of the farmers and workers who grow Holistic's beautiful ingredients, we are shining a light on the need for fair trade practices throughout the industry.
In cultivating strong relationships with suppliers and being uncompromising in responsible sourcing, we are striving for a sustainable future for both people and planet. And together, with our customers, we are bringing positive and holistic change to these communities.
What needs to change
While fragrance remains a luxury industry, the supply chain is far from fair. The natural ingredients used to create the fragrances we love are all too often grown without concern for the environment, and harvested by people struggling to make a living in the most challenging of conditions.
Unstable pricing and lack of sustainable farming practices put both harvests and habitats at risk. Many of the world's most beloved fragrance ingredients are grown in ecologically sensitive regions with little protection.
Seasonal harvests, low wages and lack of supplementary income leave farming communities vulnerable. Women and small-scale farmers are disproportionately affected across the supply chain.
Most fragrance brands never reveal where their ingredients come from or who grows them. We believe that needs to change, starting with our own supply chain.
We source through suppliers who have active, multi-year programmes in place to address these issues. We tell those stories publicly, because accountability starts with visibility.
Every candle you burn connects you to a farmer, a community, a place. We think you should know where that is.
Where our fragrances come from
Patchouli is one of the most widely used ingredients in fragrance. Its cultivation, however, is in plight due to unstable pricing, lack of sustainable practices and poor working conditions for farmers.
In partnership with Indesso, our suppliers at Firmenich have embarked on a 10-year roadmap to transform the sourcing of patchouli for a more prosperous future, addressing economic, environmental and social conditions together.
Orange blossom is produced from the white flowers of bitter orange trees in Morocco during a harvest season that lasts only three weeks. This leaves more than 1,500 women who work as seasonal pickers in need of additional income for the rest of the year.
Our suppliers at Firmenich have partnered with Les Arômes du Maroc and Care Morocco NGO to address this directly, providing economic support and skills development year-round.
Vetiver grows in many countries, but the finest quality oil comes from the south-west of Haiti. The social, political and environmental challenges in these rural communities have made farmers and the industry deeply vulnerable.
Our supplier Firmenich has partnered with Haitian vetiver producers at Frager to secure high-quality supply while improving living and working conditions for farming families.
Egypt has a well-established reputation as the world's leader in jasmine production. All its fields are located in the Nile Delta, where exceptionally rich soil allows for record flower yields.
Our suppliers at Firmenich work with on-the-ground partners at Machalico to ensure that all farmers, large and small, benefit from Egypt's thriving jasmine industry. Half the jasmine extracted by Machalico comes from its own fields; the rest is purchased from a network of small-holding farmers, for whom it represents a vital income.
Machalico has implemented programmes to help small-holders access financing, with social initiatives providing healthcare for farming families and higher education scholarships for their children.
Our holistic path to change
We work on three levels: understanding the stories behind our ingredients, choosing suppliers with active and evidenced improvement programmes, and sharing what we find with our customers openly.
We share the stories of the farmers, workers and communities behind our ingredients. Transparency is the first step to accountability.
We choose suppliers who invest in long-term improvement programmes. We require living wage practices and ethical labour standards across our supply chain.
We hold ourselves accountable through B Corp certification, renewed every three years. Standards increase each cycle, so standing still is not an option.
About our impact
Are Holistic London candles ethically sourced?
Yes. We source through suppliers who have active, multi-year programmes to improve conditions for farmers and communities across our supply chain. We also hold B Corp certification, which independently verifies our social and environmental performance every three years.
Where do the ingredients in Holistic London candles come from?
Our fragrance ingredients are sourced globally, including patchouli from Indonesia, orange blossom from Morocco, vetiver from Haiti and jasmine from Egypt. We work with suppliers who are transparent about their sourcing and who invest in the communities that grow these ingredients.
What does fair trade mean for a candle brand?
For us it means choosing suppliers who go beyond legal minimums: paying fair prices to small-holder farmers, investing in social infrastructure like schools and healthcare, and running programmes that improve livelihoods over the long term rather than extracting value and moving on.
Is Holistic London a sustainable candle brand?
Sustainability covers both our products and our supply chain. Our candles use 100% plant-based soy wax, are paraffin-free and come in recyclable and biodegradable packaging. Our procurement policy requires us to actively prefer suppliers with strong environmental and ethical practices, not just the lowest price.
Start with how you want to feel
Every Holistic London candle is designed around a mood state. Find yours in two minutes.
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