Methodology

Most of the brands people trust have been hollowed out. Bought by conglomerates, licensed by brand-management firms, gutted by private equity, or run for short-term margin by public companies with no stake in the product five years out. The Brand Ledger tracks which ones. It's the reference that sits under the Worse on Purpose newsletter — the essays tell the story, the Ledger tracks who owns what.

It is not a comprehensive index of every brand in every category. It's a working document that grows as essays publish and readers write in with things worth investigating.

Three ways. Through the investigative essays — if a brand is named in an essay, it's in the Ledger. Through reader tips, especially from people with firsthand experience of a brand (former employees, reps, supply chain, buyers). Through ongoing research when an acquisition or ownership change makes a brand newly worth tracking.

Categories covered right now: tools, bags and packs, apparel, eyewear, footwear. These are the categories where the buy-it-for-life crowd has the most at stake and where conglomerate consolidation has moved the fastest. More categories will come as the essays expand.

If a brand you care about isn't in the Ledger, it's probably not a judgment. It's just that we haven't gotten there yet. Send a tip.

Every brand page has a short callout describing the specific conditions that would move it up or down — ownership changes, manufacturing moves, licensing deals, documented quality regressions. It's there on purpose. A good Ledger doesn't just hand down verdicts. It shows the work. A verdict is conditional, and the conditions are named.

If one of those conditions shifts, the verdict moves. Approved brands have become Avoid brands in a single acquisition. Watchlist brands have become Approved after a trust structure or employee-ownership transition. It happens.

Every brand gets reviewed at least annually. Out-of-cycle reviews happen when an acquisition, divestiture, licensing deal, or enough reader tips push a brand into the “needs a fresh look” pile. The last reviewed date on every brand page shows when that last happened.

Verdicts are not permanent. The Ledger is meant to be a living document. A brand that was Approved in 2026 can be Former Great in 2028. That's not a failure of the Ledger — that's the Ledger working.

The most valuable tips come from people inside — former employees, reps, supply chain, buyers, anyone who's seen a brand change from the inside. If you've watched a brand degrade, if you know a story that isn't on the internet yet, if you have documents nobody else has, send them.

Anonymous is fine. Leaving out your email is fine. Every tip gets read.