Epistemic Justice in Consumer Testimony

Sor Juana's intellectual work insisted on the validity of her own reasoning despite social hierarchies that denied women's capacity for knowledge. Epistemic justice in ethical consumption means crediting the testimony of garment workers, farmers, and affected communities about their own conditions, rather than depending solely on corporate sustainability reports or third-party certifications designed by distant experts. These workers possess experiential knowledge about their reality that outsiders cannot replicate. Ethical consumption rooted in this principle actively seeks out and trusts the voices of those most affected by production systems. It resists the paternalism of well-intentioned consumers or corporations deciding what's best for others, instead treating workers as knowledgeable agents whose accounts deserve primary authority in discussions of labor justice and environmental stewardship.