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Goop is under attack, yet again.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle website is now the target of the advertising watchdog group Truth in Advertising (TINA), which filed a complaint to two California district attorneys who are part of the California Food, Drug and Medical Device Task Force. In the letter, the nonprofit claims it conducted its own investigation into Goop for using “unsubstantiated, and therefore deceptive, health and disease-treatment claims to market many of its products.”
TINA says it found more than 50 instances in which Goop “claims, either expressly or implicitly, that its products–or third-party products that it promotes–can treat, cure, prevent, alleviate the symptoms of, or reduce the risk of developing a number of ailments.” This includes crystals to “treat infertility,” that walking barefoot “cures insomnia,” and that Goop’s signature perfume “improves memory” and can “work as antibiotics.” Of course, Goop’s controversial vaginal jade eggs got a shoutout for claims that they can “prevent uterine prolapse.”
Marketing products as having the ability to treat diseases and disorders not only violates established law but is a terribly deceptive marketing ploy that is being used by Goop to exploit women for its own financial gain,” Bonnie Patten, TINA’s executive director, said in a statement.
TINA officials say they contacted Goop on Aug. 11 to “remedy the deceptive marketing” in numerous stories, and that the company has since made “limited changes.” As such, TINA now calls on the district attorneys to conduct a further investigation.