Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow has dropped angora products from her Goop store after coming under fire from animal rights protesters.
PETA had urged the star Goop to stop using wool gruesomely culled from fluffy angora rabbits at Chinese factories, which most big brands stopped using due to animal cruelty concerns.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals launched a social media campaign aimed at pressuring Goop by showing footage of the creatures screaming as their fur gets violently ripped out by hand or shaved, leaving them bloody and terrified.
‘Goop says it doesn’t mind being the tip of the spear – that it goes first so others don’t have to. But in the case of angora, Goop is last. Now is the time to catch up,’ PETA President Tracy Reiman wrote to Paltrow in September.
The star modelled an angora sweater, currently going for £180 on Goop’s website – down from an eye-popping £603– in an Instagram video posted in March.
Now customers looking for the sweater on Goop are met with the message, ‘Oops! This link leads to an empty page.’
Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow has dropped angora products from her Goop store after coming under fire from animal rights protesters (pictured in an angora sweater)
Customers looking for angora sweater on Goop are now met with the message, ‘Oops! This link leads to an empty page!’
‘Clinging to cruel angora wool leaves Gwyneth Paltrow one among none, as anyone with an ounce of compassion wouldn’t be caught dead with it after seeing footage of terrified rabbits being strung up and sliced to ribbons,’ said PETA President Tracy Reiman at the time of the campaign.
‘PETA is calling on Gwyneth to give a damn, stop trading in misery and ban angora wool from goop, as nearly every other major brand has already done.’
Now it appears that the hard-hitting message has struck a chord.
To date, more than 425 mainstream brands – including Zara, H&M, Gap, Burberry, and Hugo Boss – have banned the use of angora, with Chinese exports plummeting by over 80 percent.
While angora products are no longer available, Goop subscribers can still buy a £1,000 sex toy advent calendar for Christmas – but buyers will need to show some restraint as the kinky gift only has nine doors.
The unconventional calendar, which features in the Oscar-winner’s Pleasure Seeker’s Gift Guide and offers a series of sexually charged gifts, was unveiled by her popular lifestyle blog in October, just in time for the festive season.
And it does come with some actual restraints amongst the X-rated items included in the monster price tag.
Buyers on her Goop lifestyle site are told: ‘Behind each of the nine drawers in this advent calendar is a different surprise that will help you unlock new ways to play.’
The star modelled an angora sweater, currently going for £180 on Goop’s website – down from an eye-popping £603– in an Instagram video posted in March
While angora products are no longer available, Goop subscribers can still buy a £1,000 sex toy advent calendar for Christmas – but the kinky gift only has nine doors
Racy accoutrements include a ‘black leather play paddle, a pair of gold-plated handcuff wristlets that fasten with a toggle clasp and 20 feet of black French bondage rope, finished with gold hardware and tassels.’
Additionally, the calendar features an ’embossed leather door tag, soft nonstick PVC restraint tape, a lavender-scented massage oil candle paired with a red silk blindfold, red embossed leather pasties and a set of silky red ties with padded black leather cuffs.’
A gold stainless-steel bullet vibrator with 10 vibration modes – five steady intensities and five patterns – rounds off the series of raunchy Christmas gifts hidden behind its various doors.
The pricey advent calendar is from upmarket lingerie maker Kiki de Montparnasse.
And Goop says of the brand: ‘Teetering on the edge of playful and provocative, this luxe lingerie label celebrates the female form with a collection of indulgent intimates.
‘Launched in 2005, the name was modelled after the Queen of Montparnasse, the outspoken Parisian model and actress who characterized the roaring twenties in its heyday, exuding an unapologetic self-confidence brought back to life through the brand’s decadent design.
‘A daring mix of tulle, lace accents, and supple silk; each exquisite piece is incredibly luxurious, but intended for everyday.’
In 2020, the actress suffered backlash after releasing a £57 candle, cheekily named ‘This Smells Like My Vagina’, in her online Goop shop
The calendar features in Paltrow’s Pleasure Seeker’s Gift Guide and offers a series of sexually charged gifts (the actress is pictured attending Milan Fashion Week in September)
In 2023, Paltrow and the Goop team recommended a £300 block of Parmesan cheese, an £11,000 artisanal backgammon set, and a £11,496 gold-plated vibrator.
Three years earlier, the actress suffered backlash after releasing a £57 candle, cheekily named ‘This Smells Like My Vagina’, in her online Goop shop.
According to the product’s description: ‘This candle started as a joke between perfumer Douglas Little and GP—the two were working on a fragrance, and she blurted out, “Uhhh..this smells like a vagina”—but evolved into a funny, gorgeous, sexy, and beautifully unexpected scent.
‘(That turned out to be perfect as a candle—we did a test run at an In goop Health, and it sold out within hours.)
‘It’s a blend of geranium, citrusy bergamot, and cedar absolutes juxtaposed with Damask rose and ambrette seed that puts us in mind of fantasy, seduction, and a sophisticated warmth.’
