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OMG! Goop Opens in Toronto! CFIC leaders go undercover in the name of science
Toronto is now home to Gwyneth Paltrow’s “modern lifestyle brand” called goop. CFIC’s President, Gus Lyn-Piluso, along with Critical Links editor and CFIC Board member, Edan Tasca, went undercover to explore Toronto’s new shopping experience. Gus reports that their effort to travel incognito was thwarted: “We didn’t exactly blend in with that crowd.”
Gus and Edan identified that the objects that were sold at goop did not differ substantially from many that you might expect to find in a pharmacy. There were detoxification teas, bath salts, and mystical artifacts that looked a lot like pots for common houseplants. Where they did notice a big difference from traditional shopping was in the amount of shelf space and the price.
At goop, items are not crammed together to maximize the number of articles available to purchase. Instead they were spread out with displays that are more reminiscent of an art gallery. Likewise, the prices were similar to those you might expect to find in a high-end shop.
Our intrepid Board members were disappointed to not see the more exotic goop items like vaginal eggs. The insidious nature of the wellness industry creates demand for products whose supposed effects have no scientific backing. The fact that your local pharmacy, which sells true medical products, also sells unproven wellness products and even long-ago debunked homeopathic supplies, makes it difficult for people to differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate wellness products. We can only hope that the people who are spending money on Paltrow’s goop products can afford to do so. Too bad these individuals do not save their money or donate it to causes that improve lives.
If you happened to spot Gus and Edan skulking in the aisles of goop, we want you to know that it was in the interest of good investigative journalism. We also want to know what the heck YOU were doing there!