Complaints Filed Against Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop For “Deceptive” Advertising Claims

The advertising watchdog non-profit Truth in Advertising (TINA) has filed a complaint with two California district attorneys and claim that Gwyneth Paltrow‘s company, Goop, has engaged in making deceptive health claims in order to sell their products.

In an investigation by the non-profit, at least 51 instances of false advertising have been propagated by Goop, the lifestyle brand founded by Paltrow in 2008.

“A TINA.org investigation into 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 site wrote in a statement.

“The problem is that the company does not possess the competent and reliable scientific evidence required by law to make such claims.”

The statement also claims that TINA notified Goop and Paltrow about the investigation.

“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 “provided the company with a list of Goop and Goop-promoted webpages containing illegal health claims.”

“Despite being handed this information,” TINA says, “Goop to date has only made limited changes to its marketing.”

While Goop rarely responds to its critics – and, while mostly in jest, there have been many – a Goop spokesperson released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter this week, addressing TINA’s investigation.

“Goop is dedicated to introducing unique products and offerings and encouraging constructive conversations surrounding new ideas,” the statement began. “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. 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.”