I write about products getting worse on purpose. Today I wrote down the rules that keep Worse on Purpose from doing the same: no brand money, no affiliates, no investors, no staff. Reader-funded, in public, permanent. Hold me to them. Read here: www.worseonpurpose.com/p/on-indepen...

On Independence

No brand money. No affiliates. No investors. The rules Worse on Purpose runs on.

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New piece: who actually makes your running shoes? I went through the filings of every major brand. Two still own their factories. The rest rent from the same small pool of contractors, often with no commitment past the current order. Read here: www.worseonpurpose.com/p/same-shoe-...

Same Shoe, Different Factory: Who Makes Your Running Shoes

Only two major running brands still own their factories. The rest rent from the same pool of contractors, often with no commitment past the current order.

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New essay: On Quality. What it is, why nobody can define it, and how it gets drained from the things you love. An ode to Pirsig. worseonpurpose.com/p/on-quality

On Quality: What It Is and Why Products Get Worse

Pirsig proved we recognize quality without defining it. Where quality lives, and how companies drain it from your products without a metric moving.

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You're at the hardware store buying a hammer. Three hang on the rack. You pick up each one. One of them is better. You know it in seconds. You buy it. "Why did you buy that hammer?" "It was just higher quality" What is quality?

One PE firm owns Pyrex, Corelle, CorningWare, Instant Pot, Anchor Hocking, and Oneida. The pastel Instagram pans lose their nonstick between cooking cycle 30 and 60. A pan measured in months, priced like it's forever. Who owns your kitchen, and what's still worth buying 👇 tinyurl.com/2s3xc53m

Your Cookware Got Worse On Purpose

One buyout firm quietly collected Pyrex, Corelle, Instant Pot, and Oneida. Farberware is a name on a 200-year lease. And the pans still worth buying.

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