I am confused as to whether it is acceptable to use code produced by other people for something that is related to me and my creations. Do i have to resort to coding my portfolio website with pure css and js to demonstrate my credibility and experience as a candidate employee? Does the ideology of ‘using other people’s tools to create a better product’ apply here in this context, or would it be considered plagiarism? Is there some sort of gradient as to how much i should use third party tools for my website for it be ethically appropriate, if it all?
That would be a demonstration of your ability with said libraries/frameworks. I don’t see the issue. Unless you are talking about using just the tools with little customization, then it wouldn’t be very impressive. Still not an issue tho.
Just like writing it in pure CSS and JavaScript would be showing OP’s ability to use those tools, and showcasing how creative they are. (Or aren’t, I guess.) Everything is built out of something, and the point of a portfolio is to show off what tools the creator is good at using to make things. Whatever it is they want to show off, they should use that skill to make a cool portfolio.