Bioethics, language, and conscious consumption: an experience report of a pedagogical intervention

Abstract

This study reports and analyzes a pedagogical intervention conducted through a circuit-format workshop, involving the Stricto Sensu Graduate Programs of the Franciscan University (UFN), with a focus on the performance of the Graduate Program in the Teaching of Humanities and Languages (PPGEHL). The activity, titled “beyond the scent: the label, ethics, and the language you buy”, aimed to promote critical reflections among students in the final years of Basic Education (8th and 9th grades) from a public school regarding the consumption of hygiene products (soaps and air fresheners). Under the theoretical framework of bioethics and language analyses, the duality of labels as instruments of both information and persuasion was discussed. The methodology was based on the deconstruction of marketing terms, such as “vegan”, “100% natural”, and “dermatological tested”, confronting the technological “can do” with the ethical “should do”. The results demonstrate that scientific literacy, combined with bioethical sensitivity, enables students to identify practices of misappropriation of environmental discourse and to understand the complexity of production chains, promoting citizen engagement focused on sustainability and social justice.