Let us encourage brand activism Gordon Cook How decent, healthy and authentic are our brands? Are we sufficiently activist about those which are dishonest or even harmful? Gordon Cook, co-founder Vega School of Brand Leadership (Vega), an educational brand of The Independent Institute of Education’s (The IIE), calls the industry to arm against passive consumerism. The debate about the benefits and genuineness of today’s brands applies, of course, to the quality and integrity of the brand internally, as well as externally. A misalignment between the two is already a target for activism.  In this debate we need to see a brand as an open system — the complete supply chain including suppliers, distributors and retailers, as well as all outsourced services. Ignoring a more holistic brand approach has already landed many companies in a reputation crisis. A good example of this is when some brands distanced themselves from their manufacturers who were using child labour, harmfu...