Ecoya stands by candles after 'explosion'

The candle in question. Ecoya states their are clear safety instructions, while Dickinson argues there are safer materials. Photo / Michelle Dickinson.

Ecoya is standing by the safety of its candles after one "exploded" in the home of an Auckland scientist.

University of Auckland senior lecturer and NZ Herald columnist Michelle "Nanogirl" Dickinson said an Ecoya candle "exploded" on her kitchen table sending shards of glass across the room.

Posting on Twitter, she accused the company of poor material manufacturing.

She wrote "My @ecoya candle just exploded sending shards of glass across the room! They obviously didn't consult a materials engineer when designing".

Ecoya responded by saying there didn't appear to be any wax in jar housing Dickinson's candle.

"As per instructions, there must be wax in your candle (at last 10mm)."

But Dickinson wasn't impressed, replying "Dear tweeps - who reads the instructions on their candle? Surely you just light it? @ecoya your instructions imply poor engineered design".

My @ecoya candle just exploded sending shards of glass across the room! They obviously didn't consult a materials engineer when designing. pic.twitter.com/HUCZY2DF2R

— Dr Michelle Dickinson (@medickinson) January 22, 2017

Ecoya candles are a product of NZX-listed Trilogy International and its share price has dropped by 2.21 per cent today.

Trilogy shares, shortly after 1pm, were trading at $3.10 each on the NZX, down from their opening price of $3.17.

Kate Hemus, head of Ecoya public relations, said she was confident the incident would not cause long term brand damage to the company.

"It's a great opportunity to have a conversation about our manufacturing procedures but we have absolute confidence in the product and safety measure's provided," Hemus said.

Ecoya candles, which range in price from $25 to $50, are packaged with safety instructions which tells buyers to discontinue burning your candle when you have 1cm or less of wax remaining.