Is it proper to mix business with politics?

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This is a question I had in mind because one of my friends mentioned that she is no longer supporting Taking Cara Babies, a company that provides sleep training support and guidance for parents. The wee one did not sleep train as I believe that his frequent wake-ups during the night when he was younger were developmentally normal. Instead, I read Pamela Douglas' The Discontented Little Baby Book (which, I believe, focuses on holistically supporting mothers enjoy their babies during the most difficult stages of infancy; not just with maternal sleep deprivation).

The woman behind Taking Cara Babies, Cara Dumaplin, is known for devising a very effective sleep training program that has been lauded by a lot of people (including Biboy and Barbara). My friend used to follow Cara's account on Instagram and probably has purchased one of Cara's programs, though I'm not sure. Her issue began when Cara's donations to former US President Donald Trump's campaign fund became publicised. Perhaps, Cara's politics did not sit well with my friend; hence, the change in heart about the sleep training program. She's not alone though. The effect of Cara's campaign donations on a number of her customers was deemed newsworthy... apparently, these customers were not comfortable finding out that the money they had paid for Cara's sleep training program ended up lining the Trump campaign coffers. Hence, they boycotted her sleep training program, unfollowed her on social media, and shared her materials with other parents interested in sleep training.

This case of customers boycotting a service provider because of politics reminds me of another one: Goya Foods, a company that manufactures products used in Latin American cuisine, sought the endorsement of the Trumps in order to raise brand awareness. At that time, President Trump was also embroiled in controversial separations of children and their parents and treatment of asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. This resulted in many Latin Americans boycotting Goya Food products (e.g., beans) and in a lot of negative publicity. Rival brands reported increased sales momentum but actual damage to Goya Foods' sales was not reported.

I'm not sure how big the financial impact is of this boycott on Cara and on Taking Cara Babies. But it does warrant a few questions: 

Is it right to mix business with politics? 

Should one's political beliefs shape one's choices of goods and services?

I think that this problem reflects an important characteristic of the industry: parents have the luxury of choices. Cara is not the only player in the sleep training industry and parents can easily opt-out because they can go to other sleep consultants. Compare this situation with electricity distribution (a monopoly market) in the Philippines, for instance. Meralco handles the biggest area of electricity distribution in Luzon. If a customer does not agree with the politics of Meralco's leaders, he/she can have his/her electricity service discontinued. However, that also means that his/her household won't have electricity because there's a high probability that there are no other electricity distributors in the area. So, if he/she wants access to electricity (needs it, most likely), he/she does not have a choice but to get access to electricity via Meralco.

Let's see how this politics issue with Taking Cara Babies plays out. I'm curious to see how politics (and bad publicity) compete with a well-recognised brand and a high-quality product (or service, in Cara's case).

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