11/12/2025
People Make the Brand 2025, which redefines the social role of brands, was held with the theme "From Epilogue to Prologue." Prof. Dr. Zafer Yenal, a member of Sabancı Business School, was a guest at the 13th annual People Make the Brand meeting, delivering a speech entitled "From Earth to Planet: The New Era of Rights, Responsibilities, and Brands." In his speech, Prof. Dr. Yenal emphasized that the deepening global crises are transforming the concept of rights.
Stating that modern politics has so far been shaped through a human-centered worldview, Prof. Dr. Yenal said that the climate crisis is eroding this framework, adding, "We are now moving from Earth to planet. This transformation requires taking into account not only humans but also other species, ecosystem cycles, energy systems, and future generations."
Noting that the rights included in citizenship are narrowing in today's conditions and that the recipients of these rights are becoming increasingly unclear, Professor Dr. Zafer Yenal stated that direct forms of relationship with states are being replaced by companies, digital platforms, and supply chains. He added that this situation makes brands both more visible and more responsible in rights discussions.
“Even the best examples remain within the limits of market logic”
In his speech at People Make the Brand, Professor Dr. Zafer Yenal evaluated brands' involvement in social issues through three examples. He said that the "Black Lives Matter" movement created significant awareness about racial justice, but often failed to go beyond performative activism. Using the Patagonia example, he emphasized that even brands that most strongly embrace ecological sensitivity could not transcend the limitations of global supply chains and market logic. He stated that the rapid positioning of brands in the #MeToo movement was important, but that the impact of these steps remained limited unless internal power relations changed fundamentally.
Zafer Yenal summarized the common point of the examples he included in his speech with these words: “Brands can increase visibility and influence, but it is impossible to establish justice without structural transformation.”
“We must rewrite the social contract of the future together.”
Prof. Dr. Zafer Yenal stated that brands should position themselves not only as actors in the market but also as actors in the planet in the new era, and drew attention to the critical importance of transparency, accountability, and scale change. He said that the entire supply chain should be auditable, ethical codes should be open to external audits, and company activities should be evaluated not only in terms of commercial profit but also in terms of ecological integrity and social justice.
Prof. Dr. Zafer Yenal underlined that although brands try to play an effective role in solving social problems, they do not have democratic legitimacy, and said, “The rights regime of the future cannot be based solely on states, companies, or individual consumer preferences. We need to build a new architecture.”
Prof. Dr. Zafer Yenal concluded his speech at People Make the Brand with a call to action: “This is precisely what we mean by transitioning from Earth to planet: rethinking rights, redistributing responsibilities, and starting to rewrite the social contract of the future together. This is not a final word, but it can be a powerful preface on behalf of all human and non-human beings.”
