Is Bath & Body Works a Clean & Sustainable Brand?
Last Updated: July 1, 2022
Bath & Body Works is an extremely popular brand that offers a large line of products, from body care, hand soaps and sanitizers, fragrance, and possibly their most popular product, scented candles.
At the time of writing, the brand operates over 1,900 stores and has over 6.4 million Instagram followers, which paints a picture of how popular the brand is. You’ll find a Bath & Body Works store in virtually every shopping mall in North America.
But how do they rate in terms of clean ingredients, sustainable packaging, and animal welfare? We investigated the brand and rated them on these three pillars of what we believe makes for a conscious brand.
Read Our Analysis of Bath & Body Works Candles
If you’re a fan of Bath & Body Works’ popular scented candles, be sure to read our in-depth analysis of their ingredients and why we DON’T recommend them.
Read: Are Bath & Body Works Candles Toxic? We Analyzed Their Ingredients
Ingredients (Rating: Bad)
Bath & Body Works is very opaque when it comes to ingredients. They don’t list ingredients for any product listed for purchase on the website, so searching online for ingredient lists is necessary.
In our research, we found that the brand leaves much to be desired in the ingredients department. Essentially all of their products contain at least one ingredient we recommend avoiding.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but some examples of ingredients of concern found in Bath & Body Works products include:
Fragrance
Bath & Body Works liberally uses chemical fragrance in almost all of their products. Read our full article on why we don’t recommend products with chemical fragrance. You’ll find artificial fragrance in their candles, as well.
Methylisothiazolinone
This preservative is found in many Bath & Body Works products. It’s been linked to inhalation toxicity, allergies and possible neurotoxicity.
Artificial colors
Many Bath & Body Works products are dyed with artificial colors which are made from petroleum. You’ll find this on the label as ingredients like Yellow #5, Red #40, and Blue #1.
SLS/SLES
SLES has been linked to cancer, and SLS irritates the skin. You’ll find it in several Bath & Body Works washes and bath products.
Parabens
These chemical preservatives are commonly used in personal care products. They’re possible endocrine disruptors and could be replaced with less harsh preservatives widely used in other products on the market. You’ll find parabens in many products in the brand’s lineup.
Sustainability (Rating: Bad)
Most Bath & Body Works products are sold in single-use plastic containers, and the brand has no recycling, refill or return programs. Examples include bath bombs wrapped in single-use plastic shrink wrap—a more sustainable alternative would be selling them package-free like Lush.
The only example we could find of a reusable product are their line of candles. They come in glass containers that can be reused or recycled if properly cleaned.
For this reason, the brand gets a failing grade in terms of sustainability.
Animal Welfare (Rating: Bad)
Cruelty-Free
Bath & Body Works is not a cruelty-free brand. The brand is sold in China, where laws dictate that animal testing on finished products is a possibility. For this reason, the brand is not considered cruelty-free.
Vegan
Bath & Body works is not a vegan brand and their lack of transparency in ingredients makes it very difficult to determine which products are vegan. The brand doesn’t prioritize vegan ingredients, and they get a failing grade here.
Brand Ratings
Our rating scale ranges from “Best” (for having the best practices) to “Bad” (for having unacceptable practices). We rated Bath & Body Works as follows.
| Ingredients | Bad – Virtually every product the brand offers contains at least one ingredient we recommend avoiding. |
| Sustainability | Bad – Plastic packaging is used for all products, with no chance of recycling. |
| Animal Welfare | Bad – The brand is neither cruelty-free nor vegan. Their products being available in China opens them up to the possibility of post-market animal testing. |
Overall Rating: Bad
Bath & Body Works falls short in all three pillars of what we consider a conscious brand. Their products are full of ingredients of concern, they used disposable plastic packaging in nearly all of their products, and they’re not cruelty-free or vegan.
Being such a popular brand, we hope that they will improve their practices in the future and become a more conscious company.
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16 Comments
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Lora Reynolds
I just found your site while trying to find ingredients in B&BW products. I thought it was strange that they didn’t have them listed on their own website. I did a search and landed here & and wanted to extend my gratitude. Thank you so much for providing this service!
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Karen
The bottles of hand soap do say that they are made of 100% recycled plastic.
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Laura Arters
Wow I won’t be using anymore B&BW products after reading this. Thanks for the info!
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Akkshhey Agarwaal
Not only are their products toxic, but people working there too! Hope your article has checked all the facts possible and published this article. Sustainability will be a big issue for this company as I’m sure they wouldn’t spend a dime to care about mother nature.
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Pinar
Thank you so much! This is very insightful. Thanks to you, all the questions I have in my mind are answered. I appreciate it. Have a good one!
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Cornuda
Thanks for your research. I will throw away all my B&B W as it’s not worth risking your health. I will look for a more trustworthybrand. Shame on this company.
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Misty Leigh Holmes
Lol! What a bunch of nonsense. The ingredients are in a section under each product! Folks don’t believe everything you read just because its printed! What a comical article. Many of the ingredients that say they’re harmful has mixed professional studies. A recent study on parabens shows the amount is so minimal it’s not harmful to use. Do your oen research before you buy products. I love Bath and Body Works
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Better Goods
Hi Misty! I don’t believe the ingredients are listed under each product; where are you seeing this?
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Deb
Emmm no MIsty they are not listed under the products…they just list some ingredients like “wonderful shea butter” I’m on their chat right now trying to find the ingredients for a bar of their soap and the chat person told me “she doesn’t have all the ingredients to give me”….that IS CONCERNING!!!
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Girly Girl
Hi,
Actually, Bath and body works is cruelty free and doesn’t test on animals. But other than that, everything else is accurate. I wish they did better! 🙁
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Nancy Paddock
Thank you so much for your help!
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Flower Child
THIS ARTICLE IS 100% TRUE.
The only ingredients they give you on their website are for candles, wallflowers, and room sprays— and as you can see from a quick simple search on their site (type in “Ingredients”), this list is SPOT ON.DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING A COMPANY TELLS YOU. They will say ANYTHING to make a sale.
– Signed a former B&BW Employee
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Ruthblondie
Now my face is swollen & it hurts to wear my glasses. The lotions have made me break out in the past, but smelling the sprays? What a bummer. They need to do betr for the Consumer.
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Ruthblondie
I HAVE INHALATION TOXICITY from smelling all the scents‼️
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Ruthblondie
I HAVE INHALATION TOXICITY from smelling all the scents ‼️ I was in the B&BW Store & all of a sudden got this terrible pain on the left side of my nose. Now my face is swollen & hurts to wear my glasses
Elizabeth
Thank you for your research and concern for consumers.