The Right to Know What We Consume

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz fought fiercely for women's right to intellectual inquiry, asserting that knowledge itself is a fundamental human dignity. Applied to ethical consumption, this principle demands that we exercise our right—and responsibility—to know the true stories behind our purchases. What were the labor conditions? Who profited? What environmental costs were hidden? Sor Juana's insistence that ignorance is never neutral applies directly here: passive consumption without knowledge becomes complicity. This concept transforms shopping from thoughtless habit into an act of intellectual integrity. We honor Sor Juana's legacy by refusing the comfortable lie that information is unavailable. Instead, we investigate, question supply chains, and demand transparency. Ethical consumption begins when we claim our right to know, rejecting systems that profit from our willful blindness and asserting that informed choice is both a privilege and an obligation.