Being an informed shopper

I recently wrote about Consumers’ Checkbook, a nonprofit that seeks to help us get the most for our money and avoid scams.

Now I’ve received a Consumers’ Checkbook article titled “Worse on Purpose: Taking on the big companies that are gutting your favorite brands.”

“Private-equity firms and conglomerates have quietly bought up legendary clothing, furniture, and tool brands,” says Consumers’ Checkbook. “As they try to squeeze more profits from these well-known companies, product quality often suffers.”

So tech entrepreneur Keyana Sapp has started writing Worse on Purpose, an online newsletter “that investigates how the brands you trust got cheaper to make, quicker to break and who profited,” according to Sapp’s LinkedIn page.

Sapp also maintains The Brand Ledger, a database with four categories of brands: those still worth buying, those on his watchlist, the “former great,” and those to avoid.

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You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune