Cradle to Cradle

This philosophy is started by Michael Braungart and William McDonough. Easily said;
The life of a product should pass in a circle, from cradle-to-cradle (C2C) instead of a linear line, in which we are producing now. It is more complicated as life is not literally a circle, more like a web of connections, but to make their point we will talk about circles. Old materials should be nourishment for new products. Do not think in ‘garbage’ anymore. I like the fact that even their book is made from a special material that can be recycled better than paper. It has a specific feel to it.

To achieve this it is important that products do not contain harmful materials. The materials should be kept separated in a biological or a technological cycle, so they can either biodegrade or be recycled. In the C2C terminology we talk about upcycled rather than recycled, because with normal recycling most of the time we mix up materials that were never made for recycling. For example a blend of polyester/cotton fabric, these fibres become filling for cars and afterwards end up on the landfill anyway. With upcycling we recycle mono-materials in such a way the material stays of high quality and can be recycled over and over again

C2C is based on three basic principles;

1. Waste = food,

2. Use solar energy (which is not only the sun, but also energy derived from the sun; wind, water, biomass)

3. Respect diversity

Very important during cradle-to-cradle designing is to start with good intentions and not trying to be less bad. Enjoy life, do not have the guilt feeling you get with being less bad. This is clearly explained in the Triple Top Line (TTL) approach, this is a triangle with on each end: ecology, economy and equality. It is the same as the people, planet, profit (PPP) approach, but from a different perspective. With the TTL you do good for ecology and equality and in this way you earn your money. With the PPP approach it is mostly; we make money, and beside this we also do something for the people and planet.

Cradle-to-cradle also challenges us to think about the real problem why we invented a product in the first place, and then think about ownership. Do we really want to own a tv, with all its toxic chemicals? Or do we want to have the benefit of watching it? In this way new business models can be designed.

Another eye-opener I got from C2C is the saying; “Everything is packaging”. Think about your home, your garments, a book and even food. These are all packages for a functionality we seek; shelter, protection/identity, knowledge/leisure and energy. Now it is important to know how long we want to use this packaging, so we know how to design it.

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Summarised from the book: Cradle to Cradle Remaking The Way We Make Things, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, 2002

Circle picture from EPEA
Triangle picture from C2C-centre.com