US-based “size-inclusive” clothing retailer Universal Standard came under fire at the end of November 2018, when their partnership with Gwyneth’s Paltrow’s Goop brand was announced. The partnership covers a limited range of five items, sold on the Goop website and created in collaboration with Universal Standard.
The reaction in the body positivity community was, on the whole, negative. People seem to split into two camps: those who think the partnership is totally unacceptable, and those who think it’s a necessary evil.
In that first camp, coach and educator Melissa Toler commented on Facebook:
“If Universal Standard has a mission to “break down existing barriers and give all women fashion freedom”, how does partnering with a company with a long history of fat hatred further that mission?”
Melissa Toler, Facebook post, 29 November 2018
In the same vein, writer Alexis P. Morgan suggested a range of “non-shamey” retailers customers could use if they felt they now wanted to avoid giving money to Universal Standard.
On the other hand, Brianne Huntsman highlighted the issues associated with boycotting a company like Universal Standard, given the well-documented shortage of plus-size retailers both on the high street and online (let’s not even mention high-end fashion). Talking about the possibility that GOOP was the only source of funding for a clothing range up to US size 40 / UK size 44, she said:
“I can’t say with 100% certainty that I would’ve walked away from that. I may have made that deal with the devil, too.”
https://twitter.com/the_huntswoman/status/1068389565663141893
As an everyday consumer, I can see her point. GOOP’s new range is literally the only one going up to this size. I can hate GOOP as much as I want, but if I’m a size 40 and I need an outfit for a formal occasion, where else do I go? Even retailers that market themselves as “plus-size”, such as Simply Be or Yours, stop between size 26 and 36. If you don’t want to take the Maria Von Trapp route of making your clothes out of curtains, and you’re above a size 36, you may have a choice of just one item available online from your national retailers.
Goop and Fatphobia
So why the strong reaction to Goop? If, like me, you don’t keep up with celebrity wellness activity, you may never have read a Goop article. If you’re a follower of gynaecologist and legend Dr Jen Gunter on Twitter, you might have seen Goop being thoroughly schooled by her vis-a-vis their claims that women would benefit from inserting jade eggs into the vagina. Goop has become synonymous with “wellness” as an industry, where selling wellness products is more important than whether or not people are actually well (compare this to any celebrity promoting detox tea – aka laxatives – on Instagram).
A glance at Goop’s wellness homepage reveals articles such as “Eating Disorder Lies from Someone Who Knows” and “How to Understand Exercise Addiction”. So far, so good, right? But they are mixed in with articles on “The Archetype Diet”, a plant-based ketogenic diet, reams of workout plans. The texts on the website clearly link wellness with weight loss. Visually, the majority of the women illustrating both kinds of articles are white and thin. The shop further suggests that if you’re reading Goop, you probably spend a lot of time detoxing, exercising and maximising your antioxidants.
Without explicitly saying so, Goop clearly focuses on a target reader who is thin, or who aspires to be thin. Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow herself has explicitly promoted very restrictive eating plans and two-hour daily workouts.
In this context, it’s not surprising if fat shoppers have the impression that Goop wants to use fat models and inclusive phrasing to take their money, while simultaneously acting like they either don’t or shouldn’t exist on the rest of the site. Goop’s sentiment seems to be not “all bodies are good bodies” but “rich fat people also deserve to buy clothes from us”.
What’s the verdict?
If you believe that any publicity is good publicity, then Goop x Universal Standard has been a huge success for the latter. This was the first time that I had heard of them as a UK consumer, and the Goop press release was picked up by most of the big names in the UK dailies, as well as large numbers of fashion publications.
Considering a simple supply-and-demand viewpoint, we could say that any company producing clothes in bigger sizes than currently available is a good thing. The clothes are now on the market, people who need those sizes (and can afford the clothes) will buy them, other companies will see that they are profitable and start selling bigger sizes as well. From that perspective, boycotting Goop x Universal Standard would reduce the likelihood of future access to bigger sizes.
However, we’re not wrong to want to give our money to companies that care about us as human beings, or that make the world an easier place for us. A more body-positive company who could generate funding off the back of Goop’s campaign, and offer shoppers an alternative in the sizes they need, would have a large swathe of the plus-size customer base to scoop up.
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