TY - JOUR N2 - The goal of this paper is to present the author’s thoughts on the possible contribution of quality engineering to sustainable development. It is indicated that in the product life cycle designers have the greatest potential to support this challenge. Arguments have been presented to abandon the commonly accepted paradigm, according to which the overriding goal of the designer is to achieve the highest market value possible measured by the prospected level of demand for the products designed. It is postulated to include the minimization of the risks brought to the natural environment and social relations as a criterion of product design quality. To this goal, it is necessary for designers to pursue both environmentally friendly materials and technologies and design concepts reducing consumers’ pressure on continuously increasing demand. Such an approach will allow for more effective control of consumption, the main cause of the negative effects of economic growth. L1 - http://www.czasopisma.pan.pl/Content/119036/PDF/11-551.pdf L2 - http://www.czasopisma.pan.pl/Content/119036 PY - 2020 IS - No 4 DO - 10.24425/mper.2020.136125 KW - Quality engineering KW - sustainability KW - product life cycle KW - product design KW - customization A1 - Hamrol, Adam PB - Production Engineering Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Polish Association for Production Management VL - vol. 11 DA - 30.12.2020 T1 - Quality engineering challenges on the way to sustainability UR - http://www.czasopisma.pan.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/119036 T2 - Management and Production Engineering Review ER -