Keyana Sapp Ties 2025 Quality Complaints to Acquisitions as Shareholder Campaigns Quadruple
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 10
Keyana Sapp Ties 2025 Quality Complaints to Acquisitions as Shareholder Campaigns Quadruple
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 10
Summary
Three-quarters of Americans reported a quality or service problem in 2025, as Keyana Sapp argues once-trusted brands have deteriorated after being absorbed by conglomerates and private equity owners.
Hundreds of brands in Sapp’s Worse on Purpose database are rated from “approved” to “avoid,” linking weaker products in categories from backpacks to cookware to ownership changes and cost-cutting.
Shareholder activism has more than quadrupled since 2018, according to the Conference Board, reinforcing what Columbia law professor Dorothy Lund described as intense pressure on executives to maximize returns or risk losing their jobs.
Corporate profits reached a record $3.9 trillion annualized in the first quarter of 2025, while founders such as Ben & Jerry’s Ben Cohen say repeated margin-driven cuts gradually hollow out product quality.
New watchdogs including Worse on Purpose, Buy’r and Reddit’s Enshittification forum are filling gaps left by shrinking consumer-business coverage, while Sapp’s practical advice is to favor independent brands and check who owns them.