Thank you for choosing green

Today, Åhléns, Sweden's best known retail chain, did a really smart thing for the planet and to keep me as a customer. They sent me an e-mail thanking me for buying green products and added 5.000 points to my bonus card. A small gesture that makes a big difference.

Åhléns call their green products "Bra Val" and the criteria for these products include: recycled, social responsibility, organic, TENCEL/Lyocell (cellulose fibers made from renewable wood pulp), eco-labeled and approved by the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association with the Swan-label.

The latest "Bra Val" products I bought were four candles for our advent candleholder. They are made of 100 per cent stearin, which apparently is a lot greener since it comes from vegetable and animal fat and not from gasoline that paraffin is a by-product of. Paraffin-based candles also emit toxic chemicals like toluene and benzene. Lighting a paraffin candle once in awhile does not pose a health risk but frequent use is not advisable according to a study released by the American Chemical Society in 2009, and can lead to asthma or allergy-like symptoms or irritate the respiratory tract. So, if you're looking for healthier candles this Christmas, go for the beeswax or soybean ones.

Check out Åhléns' "Bra Val" products here: ahlens.se. The products are really beautiful and have an earthy, warm feel to them.