Safety Testing
As a leading retailer, Bath & Body Works is committed to providing only safe, high-quality products to our customers. Product safety and compliance is built into every product using industry best practices and regulations specified by world-class regulatory agencies and authoritative bodies including but not limited to the following:
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
- Health Canada
- EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR)
- International Fragrance Association (IFRA)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
Our science-based approach consists of the following steps:
Ingredient Reviews
The safety review begins with a thorough scientific evaluation of relevant, available information for each ingredient by our internal product safety experts before we approve the use of an ingredient. Our product safety experts evaluate how consumers will use the products in their daily routine when evaluating the safety of an ingredient. If an ingredient does not meet our safety standards or those set by regulatory bodies in the jurisdictions where they are sold, it will not be used.
Finished Product Testing
Home Fragrance Products
Bath & Body Works has developed best-in-class testing for new candle materials and technologies. All of our candles are subject to rigorous burn testing to ensure exceptional safety and performance. The candle testing process is carried out in multiple stages from raw material suppliers to candle and component manufactures and a leading independent testing lab. In addition, Wallflower products go through an extensive safety evaluation and third-party certification, with either UL and/or ETL.
Learn more about how to safely enjoy our candles and Wallflowers:
Personal Care Products
After ingredients are confirmed safe for their intended use, our clinical safety experts ensure product safety through confirmatory clinical testing. Testing methods include controlled in-laboratory studies (never testing on animals) and in-home use studies with consumers. In addition, non-animal alternative testing methods may be employed to further confirm safety aspects, such as eye irritation.
Post-Market Safety Surveillance and Evaluation
Even once products are on store shelves, we monitor feedback from several sources including our consumers, the latest scientific information and new regulations. New information is used to further improve performance and to continue to provide safe, high-quality products to our customers.
Animal Testing Policy
Bath & Body Works has a long history of being against animal testing. None of our products are tested on animals, and we do not sell products anywhere that requires animal testing.
The Bath & Body Works Global Ingredient Policy prohibits our suppliers from conducting animal testing on our finished products. Furthermore, our Fragrance and Flavor Policy prohibits conducting animal testing on finished fragrance oils. These policies also prohibit animal testing on raw materials for the purpose of use in our finished goods.
Because we are committed to eliminating animal testing worldwide, our company is an active supporter and a Science Advisory Panel member of the Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS) – a nonprofit research and testing laboratory dedicated to the implementation and regulatory acceptance of non-animal methods – and we serve as a member of the Industry Council for the Advancement of Regulatory Acceptance of Alternatives (ICARAA).
Bath & Body Works technical experts are actively involved in increasing the acceptance and adoption of non-animal testing methods around the globe. As the global regulatory landscape changes, we will continue partnering with the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, government agencies and other industry leaders for animal welfare and the elimination of animal testing everywhere.