We generalise in three different directions two well-known results in universal algebra. Grätzer, Lakser and P lonka proved that independent subvarieties V 1 , V 2 of a variety V are disjoint and such that their join V 1 ∨ V 2 (in the lattice of subvarieties of V) is their direct product V 1 × V 2 . Jónsson and Tsinakis provided a partial converse to this result: if V is congruence permutable and V 1 , V 2 are disjoint, then they are independent (and so V 1 ∨ V 2 = V 1 × V 2 ). We show that (i) if V is subtractive, then Jónsson's and Tsinakis' result holds under some minimal assumptions; (ii) if V satisfies some weakened permutability conditions, then disjointness implies a generalised notion of independence and V 1 ∨ V 2 is the subdirect product of V 1 and V 2 ; (iii) the same holds if V is congruence 3-permutable.