Gwyneth Paltrow's New Goop Luxury Diaper Was Really A Protest Against Diaper Tax

Gwyneth Paltrow's beauty, lifestyle, and wellness company Goop is one of the biggest brands in the industry right now, and they have millions of customers and fans. However, they aren't always in the news positively, such as when they released their $15,000 gold sex toy.

They also recently trended when social media users criticized the company and Paltrow for a new controversial product, a disposable diaper made from alpaca wool. However, what people thought was an insensitive luxury product turned out to be Paltrow's way of bringing to light a much bigger issue.

Read on to find out more.

Goop got dragged severely on social media after they revealed their new product- a luxury disposable diaper. The company made a post on their Instagram account announcing the product, which they titled "The Diaper."

They also posted a photo of this new diaper, in which a sample diaper lay against a background of wildflowers. The caption described it further and said it is "lined with virgin alpaca wool" and also has "amber gemstones" on it, which are said to have emotional-cleansing properties."

Goop also said the diaper is "infused with a scent of jasmine and bergamot for a revitalized baby." The diaper would also reportedly retail at $120 for a pack of 12 pieces, which shocked many people.

Almost immediately after Goop announced the new diaper, fans reacted negatively to it. On Twitter, one person wrote, "Goop dropping disposable, alpaca-lined diapers at the height of a national infant formula shortage crisis? Yeah, it tracks."

The backlash extended to Instagram, where people ranted and criticized Goop in their comment section. One comment read, "This can't be real. There is a formula shortage but your baby can have designer diapers." Another fan wrote, "

If this is supposedly a statement on diaper taxes, your joke missed the mark and your impact is missing the point. Otherwise it's just reading as tasteless, between the attacks on bodily autonomy and the formula shortages that are currently stressing out American mothers."

After intense backlash, Paltrow revealed that the diaper wasn't a real product and was targeted to produce outrage and conversation. She released a video where she explained that it was part of an awareness campaign with Baby2Baby, an NGO that provides baby necessities to families in need.

Paltrow shared the video on the Goop website and social media and said, "Goop launched a luxury disposable diaper at $120 dollars for a pack of 12 and there was a lot of outrage - good. It was designed to piss us off, because if treating diapers like a luxury makes you mad, so should taxing them like a luxury."

The company website also explained further with a message that read, "What we actually want is to start a conversation about how much diapers cost. Despite the absolute necessity of diapers, in 33 states, they aren't treated as an essential item. They're taxed as a luxury good."

It continued with, "Depending on the state; this sales tax can add between 1.5 percent and 7 percent to their cost. (We priced our fictional Diapérs at $120 because that is what the diaper tax could cost families annually.)."

Paltrow has long been a fighter for the rights and interests of babies, mothers, and their families. In 2017, she spoke at a gala organized by Baby2Baby, where the organization honored her with an award recognizing her contributions to children's causes and interests.

In her speech, the former Glee star said, "For a mother to have to make a choice between food, diapers, and clothing for their children is unacceptable in this day and age. We're living in a time where we really need to come together as a community and do what we can and really uplift each other."

On the Goop website, Paltrow also called on people to donate to Baby2Baby to help them provide diapers and infant formula to families in need. They wrote, "The nationwide formula shortage is a true emergency, and Baby2Baby is having formula made at a fraction of the retail cost and donating it to families throughout the US."