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The $120 Goop diapers really were full of it.
The gem-encrusted diapers that Gwyneth Paltrow’s luxury lifestyle brand debuted this week is a fake product designed to showcase a real problem: that more than half of the country taxes diapers at a higher rate than other essential items, which leaves one-in-three families struggling to afford them.
““There was a lot of outrage. Good … because if treating diapers like a luxury makes you mad, so should taxing them like a luxury.””
The Goop newsletter-turned-controversial wellness empire has pushed a fair share of eyebrow-raising products and “health advice” in the past, of course. Most famously, it suggested that women sleep with $66 jade stone eggs clenched in their lady parts, or endorsing $55 vaginal steaming treatments, both of which went against the general recommendations of gynecologists. In fact, Goop agreed to pay $145,000 to the Orange County D.A.’s office in California in 2018 for its questionable health claims.
Read more: Here are the 10 Goopiest moments of all time to mark a decade of Goop
And: ‘How can we really milk the s— out of this?’ Gwyneth Paltrow asks in ‘The Goop Lab’ trailer
So readers weren’t sure whether Goop was trolling them or not this week when the brand dropped “the Diapér” on Instagram. The Diapér was described as a disposable diaper lined with virgin alpaca wool and fastened with amber gemstones, which are “known for their ancient emotional-cleansing properties,” the company wrote, and “infused with a scent of jasmine and bergamot for a revitalized baby.” Goop listed a pack of Diapérs as $120 for a pack of 12.
And at a time when the country is grappling with inflation pushing prices up 11% over the past year, and parents are facing a crippling baby formula shortage, the seemingly tone-deaf post made a lot of people angry.
Paltrow cleared the air in a follow-up Instagram post on Thursday. Yes, it was a joke. And it was supposed to “piss us off.”
“There was a lot of outrage. Good,” Paltrow said in the 45-second clip. “It was designed to piss us off. Because if treating diapers like a luxury makes you mad, so should taxing them like a luxury.”
And Paltrow wrote that the Diapér was priced at $120 because that is what the diaper tax could cost families annually.
So Goop is directing its followers to donate to the nonprofit Baby2Baby, which distributes diapers and basic necessities to children in need. The organization has also championed the removal of the diaper tax in California, Florida and Maryland.
The National Diaper Bank Network reported that as of April 1, 2022, 35 states charge a sales tax on diapers, which ranges from 1.5% in Virginia to 7% in Indiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Many states, cities and counties can also add an additional tax. This leaves one in three families struggling to afford this essential item for their little ones. After all, children need at least 50 diaper changes a week, the National Diaper Bank Network notes, or 200 diaper changes a month.
“While eliminating the diaper tax is not a complete solution, it could allow many families to pay for another month’s supply,” Paltrow said in her post.
