Ku Klux Klan members light torches. Now, some say, Bath & Body Works provided them candles to light, too.
The retail chain recently released a candle, labeled “Snowed In”, that critics argued resembled the hoods and robes worn by the white supremacist group.
After an outcry on social media, the company explained that the designers did not intend to mimic the KKK outfit and removed the item from its website and retail stores.
“At Bath & Body Works, we are committed to listening to our teams and customers, and committed to fixing any mistakes we make – even those that are unintentional like this one,” the company said in an emailed statement to NBC News and other outlets. “We apologize to anyone we’ve offended and are swiftly working to have this item removed and are evaluating our process going forward.”
This is not the first recent instance of the brand coming under fire from consumers for bad decisions regarding new products.
To celebrate Black History Month in 2022, the company released a product line that featured Kente cloth designs. People in Ghana started to wear such clothing during ceremonial events and special occasions, according to Baylor University.
The company partnered with organizations such as the National Urban League, a civil rights group, on the 2022 campaign, but some still accused the group of cultural appropriation.
A Bath & Body Works spokesperson then released a statement declaring that the company was “committed to improving our culture through our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and part of that work has been to celebrate cultural milestones and moments – including Black History Month” and that the group would donate $500,000 to support the non-profit’s work.
After releasing the new candle, a person shared an image of product on an independent Reddit thread dedicated to the company – which, somehow, has more than 100,000 members – and wrote: “I know it’s one of those paper snowflakes, but I can’t be the only one who sees ‘it,’ right....RIGHT??”
That generated 275 comments. On Instagram, an influencer and self-described “candle-hoarder”, @scentsgalore, also shared a product image and criticized Bath & Body Works. But some responders tried to put out the fire.
“As an actual POC, a black woman, this is a reach,” one person wrote. “People are so soft and offended by everything these days. It looks like a school snowflake cutout. Stop the fake outrage.”
