In an effort to boost flagging sales and the perception that gum chewing seems tacky, Mondelez and other gum makers are coming up with formulas that they say convey additional benefits. There's Apollo Brands' ’“Fly Gum,” which releases caffeine and vitamin B, for one. Others purport to boost energy, alleviate headaches and stimulate weight loss.

The P&G company announced a program that asks consumers to support Women-Owned Wednesdays in December by purchasing the product from locations that are owned and operated by women. The brand also is launching a shoppable holiday campaign video that allows viewers to shop featured Cincinnati women-owned businesses. Women-owned businesses account for 40% of all businesses in the United States, per Drug Store News.

Peloton, the indoor bike start-up, released a new holiday ad that has received a social media backlash. Critics who have seen the 30-second spot are “confounded by its aims, accusing Peloton of peddling negative body image, unchecked privilege, and gross marital dynamics,” according to CNN. “Critics suggested it smacked of sexism. In a biting clip, comedian Eva Victor skewered the fact that a husband bought his wife an exercise bike, seemingly unprompted.

Patagonia once again made a big anti-consumerism statement. To encourage donations (instead of crazed Black Friday shopping,) the brand is matching donations to grassroots environmental organizations through its Action Works platform. “The holidays are a time when families get together to eat, drink, be merry—and likely argue about politics,” reports Fast Company. “Every gathering has a climate-change denier (or at least a contrarian), so maybe instead of yelling at them about the planet, this provides an opportunity to take the high road.”

Daimler, the owner of Mercedes-Benz, is cutting at least 10,000 jobs worldwide while Audi, which is owned by Volkswagen, said it will cut 9,500 jobs by 2025, or roughly 10% of its global workforce. “Traditional carmakers around the world are ripping up their business models in the hope of adapting to a new world in which electricity replaces gasoline and diesel,” according to CNN. “Electric cars, which have fewer parts than those powered by internal combustion engines, require fewer workers to assemble. But they cost a lot to develop.”

The struggle for retailers is real. Gap Inc.’s third quarter yielded disappointing performances across all three of its divisions. In a call with analysts, interim president and CEO Robert J. Fisher acknowledged the challenges that the company’s namesake brand faces as it moves forward. "Significant improvement is required, a lot of transformation is going on and will continue with urgency,” he said, according to Chain Store Age.

Consumers are increasingly prone to put their money where their mouth is when company executives do things they don’t agree with. Soul Cycle was among the most recent to come under fire when news broke that Stephen Ross, the chair of its parent company, had scheduled a big-dollar campaign fundraiser for President Donald Trump. In order to navigate backlash, companies need “to know who they are, and who their core stakeholders are, and what those stakeholders believe in,” according to Kellogg Insight.