The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the correlations between the professional practice of design and the issue of sustainability. We conducted a qualitative research with designers who carry out projects with small productive groups aimed at social inclusion. Since many of these projects have been related to the promotion of sustainable development, we sought to comprehend how the designers themselves characterize their field. The interviewees talked about their methodologies, their relationship with the people in the productive groups, the difficulties and the facilities of the projects, and the perceived social impacts. Their statements revealed that most of them work with artisans, although they have mentioned other kinds of groups, as seamstresses, carpenters, weavers etc. The analysis of their discourse indicates that they use different expressions to describe their area of expertise, such as social design, design for sustainability, among others. Nevertheless we observed that not all of them do direct association between their work and sustainability, despite dealing with matters that are commonly related to the issue of sustainable development: the use of local raw materials, income generation, recovery of cultural identity, improving the quality of life and local development.