When Keyana Sapp, 31, went shopping for a new backpack, the brands he remembered as a kid were just not the same.
He researched the companies, from North Face to JanSport and Eastpak, and soon realized they were all owned by the VF Corporation after a wave of acquisitions in the 2000s. After a Reddit post he made about his discovery picked up traction, he started looking at other types of consumer goods – cookware, shoes, tools, clothing.
“It seems like that was a story that just repeated in every industry,” Sapp told the Guardian.
Macpac is my go-to generally. They’re New Zealand owned and everything I have bought from them has been really good.
Hmm I’ll look into those. I managed to loan a tent off a friend for the festival I want to attend this month so my tent buying will likely happen next year or even later, meaning I now have more time to consider options. Bergfreunde.eu seems to sell them in Europe so at least I don’t have to find a kiwi to ship me one.