A watchdog group alleges that Goop is promoting health products in 'deceptive' and 'unsubstantiated' manner.
- Aug 25, 2017
AceShowbiz - Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop is accused of using "deceptive" marketing claims. Watchdog group Truth In Advertising (TINA) filed a formal complaint with two California district attorneys, alleging that the health and wellness website founded by the "Iron Man" actress is promoting products in "unsubstantiated" manner.
The non-profit organization released a statement published on its site on Tuesday, August 22 after conducting an investigation into the site's marketing. "Goop's marketing has revealed more than 50 instances in which the company claims, either expressly or implicitly, that its products (or those it promotes) can treat, cure, prevent, alleviate the symptoms of, or reduce the risk of developing a number of ailments. These include crystal harmonics for infertility, rose flower essence tincture for depression, black rose bar for psoriasis, wearable stickers for anxiety, and vitamin D3 for cancer. The problem is that the company does not possess the competent and reliable scientific evidence required by law to make such claim," read the statement.
It continued, "TINA.org warned Goop about its unsubstantiated, and therefore deceptive, health and disease-treatment claims in an Aug. 11 letter to the company and its celebrity founder and CEO. In the letter, TINA.org signaled its intent to alert government regulators if Goop did not take corrective action by Aug. 18. A day before the deadline, after communicating with Goop's outside counsel, TINA.org provided the company with a list of Goop and Goop-promoted webpages containing illegal health claims. Despite being handed this information, Goop to date has only made limited changes to its marketing."
A spokesperson for Goop responded to the allegation in a statement released on Wednesday. The rep said, "Goop is dedicated to introducing unique products and offerings and encouraging constructive conversation surrounding new ideas. We are receptive to feedback and consistently seek to improve the quality of the products and information referenced on our site. We responded promptly and in good faith to the initial outreach from representatives of TINA and hoped to engage with them to address their concerns."
"Unfortunately, they provided limited information and made threats under arbitrary deadlines which were not reasonable under the circumstances," the rep added. "Nevertheless, while we believe that TINA's description of our interactions is misleading and their claims unsubstantiated and unfounded, we will continue to evaluate our products and our content and make those improvements that we believe are reasonable and necessary in the interests of our community of users."
This isn't the first time Goop has been accused of allegedly misleading marketing claim. Back in June, the website promoted Body Vibes stickers which it claimed to be "made with the same conductive carbon material NASA uses to line space suits" which can "rebalance the energy frequency in our bodies." However, NASA denied that they used such material for their space suits.
