Goop (company)

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Goop (often stylized as goop) is a company owned by actress Gwyneth Paltrow. It was launched as a "lifestyle brand" by Paltrow in September 2008, beginning as a weekly e-mail newsletter providing new age advice, such as "police your thoughts" and "eliminate white foods", and the slogan "Nourish the Inner Aspect". A lifestyle website was later added, and then Goop expanded into e-commerce, collaborating with fashion brands, launching pop-up shops, holding a "wellness summit", and launching a print magazine.

Goop has been widely criticized for promoting and selling products and treatments that have no scientific basis, lack efficacy, and are recognized by the medical establishment as harmful. In 2017, consumer advocacy group Truth in Advertising filed a complaint with the government regulatory agency regarding over 50 health claims made by Goop.

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History

Goop began as a newsletter in 2008. It was incorporated in 2011. 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."

Seb Bishop served as CEO of Goop from 2011 to 2014. In 2014, Goop hired Oxygen Media founder and former CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Lisa Gersh as CEO. By 2014, the Goop newsletter had an estimated 700,000 subscribers.

As of 2015, around two dozen people worked for Goop, and the company had approximately 60 employees in 2016. Later that year, Paltrow moved the company's operations to Los Angeles from the UK following her separation from Chris Martin and Gersh left the position of CEO. 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 - to fill the post.

Goop launched an online shop in 2012, and it earned $1.5 million for Goop during its first year of operation. As of 2013, Goop had net liabilities of £540,086. Goop doubled its revenues from 2014 to 2015, and again from 2015 to 2016. Several other celebrities were inspired by Goop to launch their own lifestyle websites.

In 2016, Goop received $15 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. The additional funds also led to an increase in staffing for Goop, as well as the launch of new products, including a fashion label with a focus on "elevated basics".

In 2017, Goop entered into the vitamin and supplements market. Paltrow first had the idea to market supplements after receiving a Myers' cocktail from Alejandro Junger in 2007. The supplements range sold over $100,000 worth of product on the launch day. 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. Goop also held its first wellness summit in June 2017, with over 600 attendees. In September 2017, the company released its first installment of the quarterly Goop Magazine, featuring Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover. At this time, Goop had 90 employees. In December 2017, Goop announced the launch of a digital shop in Canada, following its first physical store in the country in partnership with Nordstrom.

Goop generates revenue from advertising and also sells a Goop-branded clothing line, a perfume, and books. As of 2017 Goop readers have an average household income of $100k+ per year.

Goop held its second In goop Health summit in NYC in January 2018. Celebrity guests and speakers included Drew Barrymore, Chelsea Handler and Laura Linney. Panelists included Kelly Brogan, a "holistic health psychiatrist", who has disputed the effectiveness of both vaccinations and HIV medications. The invitation of Brogan has been criticized by Page Six and Jezebel.

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Brands and product lines

Since Goop's inception in 2008, it has launched a number of brands and product lines, which are sold online, at the Goop Lab in Brentwood Country Mart in Los Angeles,, and at pop-up shops in LA, New York, Chicago, and the Hamptons. and in collaboration with Nordstrom stores. These brands include:

goop by Juice Beauty, a makeup and skincare line launched in partnership with Juice Beauty in 2016. The brand's products are made from USDA certified organic ingredients.
goop Label, a fashion line launched in September 2016. The collection is based on Paltrow's personal favorites, and has been described as "high-street staples".
goop Fragrance, an all-natural fragrance line including perfume and scented candles. The first fragrance, Edition 01 Winter, was mixed with the help of the perfumer Douglas Little and released in November 2016.
goop Wellness, which sells GMO and gluten-free vitamins and other supplements. The line was launched in 2017.

Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Conference Was As Kooky As You Expected It To B

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Criticism

Goop has been criticized for showcasing expensive products and making "out of touch" recommendations that many readers can't afford, which Paltrow has responded to by stating that such products and recommendations are "aspirational". Goop has also drawn criticism for selling items containing the same ostensibly harmful chemicals which the site tells people to avoid. 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. Critics suggested that people on food stamps could not afford Paltrow's recommendations, and Paltrow gave up on the challenge after only four days. In an April 2017 Jezebel article, Stassa Edwards criticized Goop's marketing and retail strategy, claiming that the company profits "from endless illness." A brand analyst has noted how Goop's response to criticisms seems designed to "strengthen their brand and draw their customers closer", noting Goop's use of feminism, traditional Asian medicines and Eastern philosophies, and anti-establishment politics to do so.

A number of products sold by Goop, as well as ideas promoted in its blog posts, have been criticized for having no scientific basis, not producing the desired results, having no medical benefit, or potentially even being harmful:

In January 2015, Paltrow advocated for a spa treatment referred to as vaginal steaming, 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." Paltrow admitted that she thought that the process was "insane" but did not disavow it, instead suggesting that it has "real healing properties." Gynecologists were critical, with Draion Burch, an obstetrics and gynaecology specialist, indicating that "there's no scientific evidence that shows it works." An article published on July 18, 2017 in TheStar.com documented the ongoing battle over this issue between Paltrow and Jennifer Gunter, an OB/GYN for Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, who The Star dubbed an expert in "vaginal health." One of Gunter's posts 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."
In October 2015, in a blog post in Goop, Habib Sadeghi revisited the disproven claim that breast cancer might be linked to wearing underwire bras. The claim was swiftly criticized, with Gunter 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."
In 2016 Goop said it would voluntarily, permanently discontinue claims for Moon Juice 'Brain Dust' and 'Action Dust' following an inquiry from the National Advertising Division (NAD). NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry's system of self-regulation, administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
In 2015, Timothy Caulfield wrote a book on the negative impact of celebrity endorsement called "Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?" in which he described the lack of evidence for several products sold by Goop and endorsed by Paltrow, as well as health claims made by other celebrities.
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." Again, gynecologists were critical of this product, with Gunter calling it a "load of garbage."
In June 2017, a Goop blog post promoted Body Vibes, wearable stickers that "re-balance the energy frequency in our bodies". Originally, the advertisement 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 advertisement, 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."
Consumer advocacy group Truth in Advertising has referred over 50 claims made against Goop to government regulators.
In October 2017, The Skeptic (UK) magazine awarded Goop the Rusty Razor award, "for the most audacious pseudo-science." The award was decided by readers' votes, and Goop was the winner "by a landslide."
Goop promoted a coffee enema device from Implant O'Rama LLC, despite a lack of scientific evidence to their efficacy and in spite of evidence of coffee enemas' potential danger.