Goop (company)

Goop

Type	Privately-held
Industry	Publishing Internet Retail Merchandising
Founded	2008
Founder	Gwyneth Paltrow
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Key people	Gwyneth Paltrow (CEO)
Website	Goop.com

Goop (often stylized as goop) is a Internet fraud website launched by has-been actress and grifter Gwyneth Paltrow in September 2008 originally as a weekly e-mail newsletter with New Age advice like "police your thoughts" and "eliminate white foods", and the slogan "Nourish the Inner Aspect". The newsletter was later joined by a lifestyle website, and Goop has expanded into e-commerce, collaborating with fashion brands, launching pop-up shops,^[1] and a wellness summit.^[2]

Goop has been embroiled in a series of controversies. Its critics claim that a number of products sold by the company or promoted in its blog have no scientific basis, have no efficacy, and some may even be harmful. Some have characterized Goop's claims as "ludicrous and tantamount to fraud".

History

According to Paltrow, the company's name "is a nickname, like my name is G.P., so that is really where it came from. And I wanted it to be a word that means nothing and could mean anything."^[3]

In the first year of the online shop, 2012, it earned $1.5 million for Goop.^[4] As of 2013, Goop had net liabilities of £540,086.^[5]

Goop was officially incorporated in 2011.^[6] Seb Bishop was CEO of Goop from 2011 to 2014.^[7] As of 2015, around two dozen people worked for Goop.^[1] In 2014, Goop hired Lisa Gersh as their CEO. Gersh had founded Oxygen Media and later was CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.^[8] Gersh left her position as CEO in August 2016 and the position remained vacant until early 2017 when the board named Paltrow - who had previously announced in 2016 that she would be stepping away from Goop^[9] - to fill the post.^[10]

In 2016, Goop received more than $10 million USD in Series B funding from venture capital firms NEA, Felix Capital and 14W Venture Partner. This corresponded with Goop centralizing their operations in the Los Angeles area, where Paltrow is based, and away from New York, where Gersh lives.^[11] The additional funds also led to an increase in staffing for Goop, as well as the launch of new products, including a fashion label.^[12]

In 2017, Goop entered into the vitamin and supplements market. Paltrow had first had the idea to market supplements after receiving a Myers' cocktail from Alejandro Junger in 2007.^[13] In April, Goop announced that they had entered into an agreement with Condé Nast to launch a new print magazine under the name Goop, beginning in September.^[14] Goop also launched a wellness summit.^[2]

Controversies

Goop has drawn criticism for showcasing expensive products,^[15] and selling items containing the same ostensibly harmful chemicals which the site tells people to avoid.^[16]

In January 2015, Paltrow advocated for a spa treatment referred to as vaginal steaming,^[17] a process she reportedly underwent at the Tikkun Spa in the Los Angeles area, wherein "you sit on what is essentially a mini-throne, and a combination of infrared and mugwort steam cleanses your uterus, et al."^[18] Paltrow admitted that she thought that the process was "insane" but did not disavow it, instead suggesting that it has "real healing properties."^[19] Gynecologists were critical, with Draion Burch indicating that "there's no scientific evidence that shows it works."^[20]

In April 2015, Paltrow participated in a food stamp challenge in an attempt to demonstrate that her readers could abide by her dietary recommendations despite living on food stamps.^[21] Critics suggested that people on food stamps could not afford Paltrow's recommendations^[22] and Paltrow gave up on the challenge after only four days.^[23]

In October 2015, in a blog post in Goop, Habib Sadeghi revisited the disproven claim^[24] that breast cancer might be linked to wearing underwire bras. The claim was swiftly criticized,^[25] with Jen Gunter, an OB/GYN for Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco stating "it’s breast size that increases the risk of breast cancer and not because larger breasts need more manhandling by underwires, but because larger breasts are harder to screen and are associated with obesity, a known risk for breast cancer."^[26]

In January 2016, an interview in Goop with Ann Louise Gittleman addressed the controversial claims of Wi-Fi and cellular toxicity,^[27] despite Gittleman's claims already having been debunked, with Peter Pressman, an internist with the Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., calling the claims "not only ludicrous but tantamount to fraud."^[28]

In January 2017, Goop marketed the "Jade Egg" for $66.00 USD as a form of vaginal weightlifting which, according to their website, is "used by women to increase sexual energy, health, and pleasure."^[29] Again, gynecologists were critical of this product,^[30] with Gunter calling it a "load of garbage."^[31]

In an April 2017 Jezebel article, Stassa Edwards was critical of Goop's marketing and retail strategy, claiming that the company profits "from endless illness."^[32] A number of products sold by Goop or promoted in blog posts at Goop have no scientific basis, do not produce the desired results, have no medical benefit or, indeed, may be harmful.

In June 2017, a Goop blog post promoted Body Vibes, "wearable stickers that re-balance the energy frequency in our bodies".^[33] Originally, the post claimed that the stickers were "made with the same conductive carbon material NASA uses to line space suits so they can monitor an astronaut’s vitals during wear" but NASA denied that they had "any conductive carbon material lining" their spacesuits with Mark Shelhamer, former chief scientist at NASA's human research division going so far as to call the claim a "load of BS." The reference to NASA was subsequently removed from the post, with the manufacturer of the stickers issuing a statement to Gizmodo saying "We apologize to NASA, Goop, our customers and our fans for this communication error. We never intended to mislead anyone. We have learned that our engineer was misinformed by a distributor about the material in question, which was purchased for its unique specifications."^[34]

An article published on July 18, 2017 in TheStar.com documented the ongoing battle regarding Goop between Paltrow and medical doctor Jen Gunter, who The Star dubbed an expert in "vaginal health." One of Gunter's post's was "Ms. Paltrow recommends a V-steam. My response: Don’t.” Another was "Dear Gwyneth Paltrow, we’re not f---ing with you, we’re correcting you, XOXO Science." ^[35]

References