Gwyneth Paltrow.
NINA PROMMER/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockFalse advertising. Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness and lifestyle brand appeared to launch a bougie baby item — before revealing the (fake) announcement was solely made to raise awareness about taxing essential items.
“Meet The Diaper. Our new disposable diaper lined with virgin alpaca wool and fastened with amber gemstones, known for their ancient emotional-cleansing properties,” an official Goop Instagram post introducing the “new line” read on Wednesday, May 11.
The lifestyle brand added that the diapers would be “infused with a scent of jasmine and bergamot for a revitalized baby,” and would officially be available for purchase on the website Friday, May 12, at 11 am EST. The diapers were set to go for $120 per pack of 12.
The announcement garnered a variety of social media responses varying from people excited to purchase the product for their little ones to other commenters wondering if it was a joke.
One user wrote, “NEEED!!!!! For my children,” about the diaper line.
Not everyone, however, was as thrilled about the potential launch.
“Is this an SNL skit?,” one user commented. “Got to be a joke. Although you never know with GOOP,” another one wrote.
The naysayers turned out to be right about the lavishly priced baby items. In a press release sent to motherboard by the PR company leading the “Diapér” brand’s introduction, it was revealed that the ad is a PR stunt between Goop and Baby2Baby — a nonprofit and diaper bank that gets diapers and other essential items to children across the United States.
“Tomorrow, Goop CEO Gwenyth Paltrow will reveal on Instagram that ‘The Diapér’ is designed to expose the ridiculousness of taxing diapers like a luxury product, the statement read.
Since its launch, Goop has released a variety of controversial products, including the Jade Egg for increased sexual energy when placed in one’s vagina.
Gwyneth Paltrow.
Lev Radin/Pacific Press/ShutterstockIn 2018, Goop paid $145,000 in civil penalties for “unsubstantiated” claims that the vaginal eggs could balance hormones and regulate menstrual cycles. The company can no longer make medically unconfirmed statements but still sells the eggs.
Goop has also come under fire for their “This Smells LIke My Vagina candle.” Paltrow, however, stands by her items from her, especially the scene that may leave some people perplexed.
“You grew up getting messaging around the feminine care that was heavily scented with synthetic fragrances and all this kind of thing,” the Iron Man actress exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2020, regarding her cheeky candle. “I just felt it was time to make a bit of a feminist statement around accepting who we are and our femininity.”
In March 2022, Goop’s former chief content officer, Elise Lohnenslammed the company’s cleanse culture in an Instagram video shared via her personal account.
“When I left Goop, I vowed to never do another cleanse again and went into full rebellion, which has been kind of fun, and definitely healthy in terms of letting go of ideas of what my body should look like as a 42-year-old. old who has had two kids,” she explained. “I needed to break a tendency to be critical and punishing. To chastise myself. All of it. I stopped weighing myself completely.”
the Shakespeare in Love star, for her part, has defended the wellness company from criticism since its inception, telling Harper’s Bazaar UK in 2011 that “we really are a team of amazing people who bring incredible ideas to the site.”
