Epistemic Justice in Consumer Relationships

Sor Juana's writings persistently questioned whose knowledge counts as legitimate and whose voices are marginalized in systems of power. Applied to ethical consumption, epistemic justice means actively seeking and respecting the knowledge of those most affected by consumption systems—workers, farmers, and communities bearing the costs of production. Rather than relying solely on corporate certifications or expert assessments developed in wealthy nations, this approach values the direct testimony and expertise of those actually living within supply chains. It means listening to farmer cooperatives about agricultural practices, to garment workers about factory conditions, to indigenous communities about environmental stewardship. This practice resists the epistemic injustice endemic to global supply chains, where those most affected are rendered invisible or untrustworthy while distant experts and corporations speak for them. By actively seeking direct knowledge from affected communities and treating their understanding as authoritative about their own conditions, ethical consumers challenge hierarchies of knowledge that serve exploitation and rebuild respect for diverse forms of expertise grounded in lived experience.