‘It Was Designed to P*ss Us Off’: Gwyneth Paltrow’s $120 Luxury Diapers Turn Out to be a Protest Over Cost of Essential Goods
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Gwyneth Paltrow and her health and wellness company Goop have regularly been the focus of ridicule for some of the products they sell, and that appeared to again be the case on Wednesday when the company announced a $120 package of luxury, gem-stone encrusted diapers.
However, it turned out that Goop and the Oscar-winning actress had in fact partnered with a non-profit called Baby2Baby to stage a protest to draw attention to the diaper tax and the rising cost of essential goods related to raising children.
“Goop launched a luxury disposable diaper at $120 for a pack of 12 and there was a lot of outrage. Good,” Paltrow explained in a video posted to social media on Wednesday night.
“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 Diapér is a fake product meant to shine a light on a real problem,” she added.
Diapers are a necessity, but in 33 states they’re taxed like a luxury item, leaving 1 in 3 moms struggling to afford them. Thank you @goop for launching The Diapér, a fake diaper designed to highlight an outrageous luxury tax. https://t.co/RFC5sNnxfP #changethediapertax pic.twitter.com/pxcJ2gBskt
— Baby2Baby (@baby2baby) May 12, 2022
“Despite the absolute necessity of diapers, in 33 states, they aren’t treated as an essential item. They’re taxed as a luxury good,” Paltrow notes, bringing up an issue she has long advocated for – repealing taxes on diapers.
Goop further explains on the company website why they priced the diaper at $120: “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.)”
Critics of Goop were initially quick to jump on Paltrow and the company, a clear sign that the PR stunt successfully leveraged the less popular aspects of the company’s reputation to make headlines – although a quick scroll of the comments on the Instagram post announcing the fake diaper shows not everyone fell for the stunt.
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Paltrow’s reveal that the product was fake was coupled with her urging people to “make a donation to help Baby2Baby provide formula to the families they serve.”
“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,” a related article on the Goop website concludes.
