Bath and Body Works has pulled one of its new winter-themed candles from shelves after receiving backlash from customers who said the design resembled Ku Klux Klan hoods.
The controversy emerged when some online commenters pointed out that the paper snowflake design on the candle appeared similar to the pointed hoods worn by members of the KKK, a white supremacist group founded in 1865 known for terrorizing Black Americans. The KKK hood has long been recognized as a hate symbol, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
In response, Bath and Body Works Canada issued an apology to CTVNews.ca regarding the “Snowed In” candle, calling the design a mistake. “At Bath and 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 email. “We apologize to anyone we’ve offended and are swiftly working to have this item removed and evaluating our process going forward.”
The candle attracted significant attention online after its release last week. One user, Nathalie May (@nathaliemayy), commented on X (formerly Twitter), “How did they not see that coming? Glad they took it down though. Sometimes companies really need to double-check their designs before dropping them.” Another user, Тσnι (@DymeLatte), wrote, “It looks like little Alien Klansmen.”
However, not everyone saw the design as problematic. One commenter, ChaoticNerd (@nerds4nerds), wrote, “This is actually just stupid. There is nothing racist about this. People are looking for reasons to race bait.”
Candles are a key product for Bath and Body Works, making up a significant portion of the company’s sales. In fact, their holiday-scented candles account for nearly 40% of annual sales, according to industry analysts.
