The Cradle to Cradle® concept

The slogan “Cradle to Cradle” sums up the idea of designing products and manufacturing processes in such a way that the raw materials and ingredients used will turn into nutrients rather than waste after they have been utilised or consumed. The main objective is to develop high-quality, recyclable materials and goods and transform linear flows of fabric flows to premium recyclables. The Cradle-to-Cradle® concept follows the economic principle applied by nature, which is based on closed cycles. According to this principle, all parts consider themselves to be a part of the whole and mutually benefit, promote, transform and recreate without losing anything or leaving anything unusable behind. For instance, try imagining a tree as a production facility of leaves. Its basis of existence and raw material source are the nutrients contained in the soil. It uses water and sunlight to convert this raw material for the purpose of producing fruits and leaves. When the leaves drop to the ground in the autumn, they will not remain there as useless waste, but serve as nutrient for countless micro-organisms which will then decompose and utilise the leaves before returning them to the ground in the shape of topsoil. This topsoil, in turn, receives its nutrients from the ground which simultaneously serves as a source of nutrients for the tree. The result is a perfect metabolism in which the product “leaves” circulates.

To allow this cyclic principle to be applied to our economy, the Cradle to Cradle® concept divides products into two different groups and cycles.

Products that are manufactured for long-term use such as cars, household appliances, carpets, office furniture or synthetic fibres are labelled as durable goods under the Cradle-to-Cradle® concept. Their components include high quality materials which are designed to last for a long time such as plastics or metals. These materials are integrated into a technical “nutrient” cycle which is intended to turn them into dynamic, yet residual goods that will remain useful in the long term.
What this means for durable goods is that the products need to be designed in such a way that the raw materials used can be sorted and recycled without any loss in quality. It will then be possible to use them as the basis for creating new products of equal quality, thereby creating a genuine, endless cycle of materials that does not produce any waste.

Products that are made of biodegradable substances or have a limited useful life are defined as consumables in accordance with the Cradle-to-Cradle® concept. Examples include textiles composed of natural fibres, cosmetics, food, cleaning agents and detergents, diapers or packaging materials suitable for singular use.
Following Cradle to Cradle®, these consumables are designed in such way that they can be fed back into the biological cycle to serve as nutrients. This purpose requires that all product components be selected so that they are sensible and usable from an ecological standpoint, i. e. that they do not contain any toxic substances.

Making durable goods and consumables based on this principle requires a holistic strategy. In contrast to the procedures commonly applied today, which attempt to filter out anything still usable from waste materials, Cradle to Cradle® requires that parameters such as recyclability, non-toxicity, and usability be taken into account starting with the product development stage so that products can be designed for nutrient cycles from the onset.
Products designed in such a way are capable of solving the raw material and the waste problem at the same time and expose neither man nor the environment to any risk from potentially harmful substances.

Cradle to Cradle® means, therefore, to device and implement useful, completely recyclable or biodegradable products and production methods of the highest quality.

For more information, go to:
>> EPEA Internationale Umweltforschung
>> MBDC – McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry