Clean sunscreen products were pulled from the shelves of Canada’s first Goop store shortly after its highly-anticipated opening for failing to have the required licence from Health Canada.
Two sunscreens—made by U.S.-based clean beauty brand Beautycounter—were identified by Health Canada inspectors who were among the first to visit actress Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle and wellness brand’s pop-up shop in Toronto.
According to a Health Canada spokesperson, the products were being sold without the licence required for all natural health products sold in Canada.
“All natural health products must have a product licence before they can be sold in Canada,” a spokesperson told CTVNews.ca.
“Once Health Canada has assessed a product and decided it is safe, effective and of high quality, it issues a product licence along with an eight-digit Natural Product Number (NPN) or Homeopathic Medicine Number (DIN-HM), which must appear on the label.”
In order to get a licence, companies must provide detailed information about the product and its ingredients to the health authority, including medicinal and non- medicinal ingredients, dose, potency, and recommended use.
In an email to CTVNews.ca, a Goop spokesperson said the incident was merely a packaging error.
“We learned that two sunscreens with US packaging from a third party brand were inadvertently sent to Canada. Canadian regulations require different packaging,” read the statement.
“The product itself is compliant with Canadian regulations and is the same formula as sold in the US. The packaging issue has been fixed, and we have reached out to Health Canada to ensure our entire assortment exceeds their standards.”
A statement from Beautycounter noted that the company has been selling its products in the Canadian market since 2016 and is compliant with Canadian regulations.
Despite being pulled from the Toronto store’s shelves, Goop customers can still order Beautycounter sunscreen products from the company’s online store, which ships to Canada.
The pop-up shop is an extension of Paltrow’s controversial lifestyle website, which has drawn criticism from health experts who have accused the actress of promoting potentially harmful health products and practices.
In 2018, the website drew massive controversy for selling a do-it-yourself coffee enema kit which was deemed potentially harmful by experts. Similarly, in 2015, the brand came under fire for recommending vaginal steaming.
Toronto’s Goop pop-up shop will be open until Sept. 22.
