Bath & Body Works apologizes for candle with label resembling KKK hoods

Jaclyn Peiser / The Washington Post

A candle that should have been known for its cozy notes of buttermilk, musk and vanilla has quickly become a viral blunder by one of the country’s most popular home fragrance chains.

Bath & Body Works pulled its Snowed In candle from shelves last week after online critics said the label included imagery resembling garb worn by Ku Klux Klan members. The design, which was meant to be a paper snowflake, looks similar to the KKK’s white, cone-shaped hood with cutouts around the eyes.

A spokesperson for the Columbus, Ohio-based retailer said the resemblance was “unintentional” and that the company is “committed to listening to our teams and customers, and committed to fixing any mistakes we make.”

“We apologize to anyone we’ve offended and are swiftly working to have this item removed and are evaluating our process going forward,” the spokesperson said in a statement to The Washington Post.

The gaffe comes during a crucial quarter for Bath & Body Works, which leans on the holidays to make up more than a third of its annual sales. The company also leverages its special collections to “retain existing customers and maintain interest levels,” Neil Saunders, a managing director of GlobalData, wrote in an analyst note last year.

Bath & Body Works has seen sales decline over the past few years; its latest earnings released in August showed 2 percent decline in total revenue. But sales are back to matching pre-pandemic levels, Mr. Saunders said.

A Bath & Body Works employee posted on Reddit that the company is instructing workers to remove the labels and place them in an opaque trash bag. Candles purchased before they were removed from shelves are being resold on eBay, with listings ranging from $125 to $360.