How can designers reduce the environmental and social impact of products?
Sustainability and the 6 Rs, the life cycle of a product, the ecological and social footprint of design, and ethical issues such as fair trade and responsible sourcing.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Design and Technology content on sustainability, covering the 6 Rs, the life cycle of a product, the ecological and social footprint of design, and ethical issues such as fair trade, responsible sourcing and the rights of workers.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this topic is asking
WJEC's designing principles include sustainability and the social and ethical impact of design. You need to know the 6 Rs, understand a product's life cycle and footprint, and recognise ethical issues such as fair trade. This is core knowledge across all three routes, and it carries high-value extended-response marks in Unit 1.
The 6 Rs
The life cycle and footprint of a product
The social footprint and ethical issues
Designing for sustainability
A designer applies these ideas throughout: choosing renewable or recycled materials, designing for disassembly and repair, using less material and energy, cutting packaging and transport, and selecting ethically sourced components. The aim is to meet the user's need while reducing the product's impact on the planet and on people.
Try this
Q1. List the 6 Rs of sustainability. [3 marks]
- Cue. Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle.
Q2. State the difference between reusing and recycling a product. [2 marks]
- Cue. Reuse uses it again as it is; recycle reprocesses the material into something new.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC-style6 marksDiscuss how a designer could make a children's plastic toy more sustainable, referring to the 6 Rs.Show worked answer →
A six mark extended-response question rewarding several developed points using the 6 Rs. Rethink the design to use fewer parts and materials (1 mark). Reduce the amount of plastic used and the energy in manufacture (1 mark). Reuse by designing the toy to be passed on or its parts used elsewhere (1 mark). Recycle by choosing a single, clearly labelled recyclable polymer rather than mixed materials (1 mark). Repair by making it easy to replace a broken part rather than throw the whole toy away (1 mark). Refuse unnecessary packaging or harmful materials (1 mark). The top band selects and develops several Rs with a clear focus on the toy. A common error is to list the 6 Rs without applying them to the product.
WJEC-style3 marksExplain what fair trade means and why a designer might choose fair trade materials.Show worked answer →
A three mark Explain question on ethics. Fair trade means the producers and workers, often in developing countries, are paid a fair price and work in safe, decent conditions (1 mark). A designer might choose fair trade cotton or timber to ensure their product does not rely on exploited labour (1 mark) and because consumers increasingly value ethically sourced products, improving the brand (1 mark). A common error is to define fair trade only as "helping the poor" without mentioning fair pay and conditions.
Related dot points
- The impact of new and emerging technologies on industry, enterprise, sustainability, people, culture, society and the environment, including automation, and the choice between meeting needs and wants.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Design and Technology core technical principle on new and emerging technologies, covering automation and robotics, enterprise and crowd funding, the social, cultural and environmental impacts of design, and how designers weigh needs against wants.
- Energy generation from fossil fuels, nuclear power and renewable sources, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and energy storage in batteries and cells for portable products.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Design and Technology core technical principle on energy, covering generation from fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable sources, their advantages and disadvantages, and energy storage in batteries and cells used in portable products.
- The physical and mechanical properties of materials, including strength, hardness, toughness, ductility, malleability, elasticity, density and conductivity, and how they guide material selection.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Design and Technology content on material properties, covering physical properties such as density and conductivity and mechanical working properties such as strength, hardness, toughness, ductility, malleability and elasticity, and how they guide material choice.
- Identifying needs and wants, the design context and target market, writing a design brief, and producing a design specification with measurable, justified criteria.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Design and Technology content on investigation, covering identifying user needs and wants, the design context and target market, writing a design brief, and producing a measurable, justified design specification.