Cover Photo: Instagram / @goop

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop is shaking up the baby care market—but not in the way you think

Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness empire, Goop, has made some questionable product launches in the past, from jade eggs designed for the vagina to candles that smell like its founder’s one.

Now, Goop looks to shake up the baby care market with The Diapér, accent and all.

Unveiled on Goop’s Instagram, The Diapér is a luxury disposable diaper crafted from virgin alpaca wool and fastened with amber gemstones which, the brand notes, are “known for their ancient emotional-cleansing properties”.

The nappy is also said to be enhanced with notes of jasmine and bergamot for “a revitalised baby”—never mind that fragrances are irritants, especially to skin as sensitive as an infant’s.

To top it all off, Goop announced that a pack of twelve of its luxury diapers are priced at US$120 (SG$165).

Read more: Gwyneth Paltrow on Her Beauty Philosophy, Self-Care Tips and More

The outrageous price was enough to create a social media storm which, it turns out, was Goop’s intention all along. After unveiling The Diapér, the brand shared a video with Paltrow revealing that the product launch was merely a stunt. The message behind it, though, was much more serious.

“If treating diapers like a luxury makes you mad, so should taxing them like a luxury,” says the millionaire entrepreneur. “Despite the absolute necessity of diapers, in 33 [US] states, they aren’t treated like an essential item. They’re taxed like a luxury good. This leaves one in three families struggling to afford them.”

Goop’s marketing stunt effectively draws attention to the diaper tax in the US—as well as how its customers can do their part to change things.

In the video, which as of writing has racked up almost a million views, Paltrow invites people to donate to Baby2Baby, a US non-profit organisation that supplies diapers, clothes and other basic essentials to children in need around the country. Goop’s partnership with the organisation also encourages people to petition to their respective governors to change the diaper tax across the various states in America.

It is these contributions that will bring babies across the US all the comfort and care they need—more than any amber gemstones can provide. Good on Goop.