A gift package that melts away, leaving no waste behind. It sounds too good to be true, but this product exists as an answer to the 540,000 tonnes of wrapping paper and gift bags thrown out each year in Canada and 25 million tons tossed in the US during the winter holiday period alone. Handmade in Toronto of natural beeswax, Spiral Melt Candle is hollow, allowing gifts to be placed inside, like chocolates, jewelry, or even lingerie. Once the gift is removed, the candle’s walls can be burned down in an enchanting spiral. Wax drips are caught at the bottom to be burned later as a second candle with a second set of wicks. All that’s left behind is a 100% recyclable aluminum base.

Created by industrial designer Catalina Navarro, the patented (since 2014) Spiral Candles is the perfect fusion of eco-friendly product and packaging.

“I’ve always been concerned about the amount of packaging going into landfills, especially from gifts, where all the pretty wrapping and boxes are just tossed. I wanted to design a gift ‘box’ that would have a purpose so it could be used in its entirety and not just thrown away. From there, Spiral Melt was born. It serves as a gift package but is equally beautiful on its own as a unique gift for candle lovers.”

Everything about Spiral Candle meets the goal of eco-friendly and no-waste packaging. Labels are made of recycled paper. The braided, rigid spiral wick is made of cotton and paper. The recyclable base captures all wax drips, ensuring that every bit of wax is burned away, with no wax caps to be thrown in the garbage. And the candle itself is made of 100% beeswax, a material that burns brighter and more cleanly than petroleum-based paraffin for a completely non-toxic burn. Like honey, beeswax is all-natural and has antibacterial properties. It is also thought to emit negative ions that relieve stress and clean and purify the air. The use of locally sourced beeswax also supports sustainable beekeeping.

Catalina Navarro explains that these candles are available in yellow or white beeswax, and in scented versions that use natural essential oils. Unlike paraffin, which is like running a diesel engine in the home, the delicate scent of beeswax–naturally aromatic from the honey and flower nectar found in the honeycomb–or essential oils like lavender, mint, or citrus, promote overall physical and mental well-being by invigorating the body with increased energy, reducing stress, strengthening focus, helping decrease physical pain, and regulating blood pressure.

Spiral Melt Candle is packaging with a positive twist! It offers the best of form and function: lovely to look at and practical too. It burns beautifully and efficiently; simply straighten the bottom wicks, then light the spiral. A new environmentally-friendly packaging system that has a use in and of itself and entirely bypasses the waste stream.

Spiral Melt has passed all safety standards at the Bureau Veritas (BV) lab and has full BV certification.

Tuvie has received “Spiral Melt Candle” project from our ‘Submit A Design‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their design/concept for publication.