What social, moral and ethical issues surround the design, manufacture and consumption of products?
The social, moral and ethical issues affecting design and manufacture, including fair trade and ethical sourcing, working conditions and labour in global supply chains, the social and ethical responsibilities of designers and companies, inclusive design and consumer protection, and the moral questions raised by consumption, waste and the use of scarce resources.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9DT0 content on social, moral and ethical issues in design and manufacture, covering fair trade and ethical sourcing, working conditions in global supply chains, designer and company responsibility, inclusive design, and the ethics of consumption and waste.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
Edexcel wants you to discuss the social, moral and ethical issues in design and manufacture: fair trade and ethical sourcing, working conditions in global supply chains, the responsibilities of designers and companies, inclusive design and consumer protection, and the ethics of consumption, waste and scarce resources.
The answer
Fair trade and ethical sourcing
Companies adopt fair trade and ethical sourcing to act responsibly, to meet the expectations of increasingly values-driven consumers, and to protect their brand, accepting that it can raise material costs.
Working conditions in global supply chains
Responsibilities of designers and companies
Designers and manufacturers have duties beyond making a saleable product:
- Safety and consumer protection: products must be safe, durable and meet legislation and consumer-rights law.
- Inclusive design: products should not unnecessarily exclude users by age, size or ability.
- Honesty: truthful marketing and not designing in deliberate, wasteful obsolescence.
- Environment: minimising waste, emissions and the use of scarce or non-renewable resources.
The ethics of consumption and scarce resources
Mass consumption raises moral questions: throwaway culture and fast fashion generate huge waste; products rely on scarce or non-renewable resources (rare metals, oil-based plastics) that are finite and unevenly distributed; and marketing can drive demand for things people do not need. Designers face the tension between selling more and the social and environmental cost of doing so.
Examples in context
Clothing brands now publish supplier lists and audit factories after exposes of poor conditions, and some use fairly traded, certified cotton to improve growers' livelihoods and reassure consumers. Electronics makers face scrutiny over conflict minerals and the working conditions of assembly workers. Designers consider inclusive design so products serve older and disabled users, and consumer-protection law requires goods to be safe and as described. Against these duties sits commercial pressure to cut costs and stoke demand, and fast fashion shows the waste that unchecked consumption creates. Weighing these competing social, moral and environmental factors, and reaching a justified position, is precisely what Edexcel's discuss questions reward.
Try this
Q1. Define ethical sourcing. [1 mark]
- Cue. Choosing materials and suppliers that avoid exploitation, child labour, conflict minerals and excessive environmental harm.
Q2. Explain one reason a company might use fairly traded materials despite the higher cost. [2 marks]
- Cue. To act responsibly and improve producers' livelihoods, and because values-driven consumers increasingly expect it, which protects and enhances the brand.
Q3. Give one ethical responsibility a designer has toward consumers. [1 mark]
- Cue. To design safe, durable products that meet legislation and consumer rights (or to design inclusively so users are not unnecessarily excluded).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 20204 marksExplain what is meant by fair trade and why a company might choose to use fairly traded materials.Show worked answer →
Award up to two marks for the meaning and up to two for the reasons.
Fair trade is a system that ensures producers in developing countries (for example cotton or coffee growers) receive a fair, stable price for their goods and work in decent conditions, often with a premium reinvested in the community.
A company might choose fairly traded materials to act ethically and improve workers' livelihoods, to meet the values of consumers who increasingly expect responsible sourcing, and to protect and enhance its brand reputation, even though it can raise material costs.
Markers reward the fair-price-and-conditions meaning plus at least one genuine business or ethical reason (ethics, consumer expectation, brand), not just a definition.
Edexcel 20226 marksDiscuss the ethical responsibilities a designer and manufacturer have when producing consumer goods in a global supply chain.Show worked answer →
Extended-response item marked on levels (range of responsibilities, tensions with commercial pressures and a judgement).
Responsibilities include: ensuring safe, fair working conditions and pay throughout the supply chain (not just the home factory); sourcing materials ethically and sustainably (avoiding conflict minerals, deforestation, excessive water use); designing safe, durable products that meet legislation and protect consumers; considering inclusive design so products do not exclude users; and minimising waste and environmental harm.
These duties can conflict with commercial pressure to cut costs and prices, which is why some firms outsource to where labour and standards are cheapest. A responsible designer weighs profit against the social, moral and environmental impact, and many find that ethical practice also protects the brand and meets consumer expectations.
A strong answer ranges across labour, sourcing, safety, inclusion and environment, recognises the tension with cost, and reaches a reasoned judgement rather than listing duties.
Related dot points
- The 6 Rs of sustainable design (rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle, and the related ideas of recover and rot) and how each is applied to reduce environmental impact, together with the principles of the circular economy and the contrast with the linear take-make-dispose model.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9DT0 content on the 6 Rs of sustainable design (rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle) and the circular economy, explaining how each is applied to cut environmental impact versus the linear take-make-dispose model.
- Life-cycle assessment (LCA) and the stages of a product's life (raw material extraction, manufacture, distribution, use and end of life), the concept of the carbon footprint and embodied energy, sustainable material selection and renewable energy, and how designers reduce environmental impact at each stage of the life cycle.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9DT0 content on life-cycle assessment and the carbon footprint, covering the stages of a product's life, embodied energy, sustainable material selection and renewable energy, and how impact is cut at each stage.
- The effects of technological developments on design and manufacture and on society, including new materials and smart materials, automation and robotics, the global marketplace and global manufacturing, the move to high-technology and digital production, and the social, economic and environmental consequences of technological change for producers and consumers.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9DT0 content on the effects of technological developments, covering new and smart materials, automation and robotics, the global marketplace and global manufacturing, the shift to high-technology production, and the social, economic and environmental consequences.
- Inclusive design and user-centred design (UCD), designing for diversity of age, size and ability, the difference between inclusive design and specialist or assistive design, user research and involving users throughout the process, and how considering a wide range of users improves products and widens the market.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9DT0 content on inclusive design and user-centred design, covering designing for diversity of age, size and ability, inclusive versus specialist design, involving users through research, and how this widens the market.
Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel A-Level Design and Technology: Product Design (9DT0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2017)