A review of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make

Things
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things was written by William McDonough and
Michael Braungart and published in 2002. McDonough is a leading figure in the sustainable design
movement and the chief (or rather, only) administrator of official cradle to cradle (or C2C) product
certification. C2C design is one of the most awesome ideas I have heard of, but the track record of
practical C2C implementation by McDonough has been spotty and drawn criticism from within the
sustainable design community.
The premise of Cradle to Cradle is eco-effectiveness rather than eco-efficiency. Eco-efficiency, or
what is mostly practiced today, is doing more with less. The whole problem with manufacturing today,
according to the authors, is that we use all of these horrible chemicals and produce toxic waste that
harms us and the environment. Production is a linear, cradle to grave process that, despite good
intentions, still results ultimately in waste. Recycling practiced today is mostly downcycling, where
materials are reused in products of lower quality, because products are not designed to be recycled.
Eco-effectiveness, on the other hand, is in its ideal form an endless cycle of materials that mimics
natures no waste nutrient cycles. Only harmless materials should be used if possible; compostable
(biological nutrients) and non-compostable or toxic (technical nutrients) materials should be
segregated so that a product can be disassembled and the two kinds of materials can be disposed of
or reused separately. This kind of material stream generates nourishing waste or no waste at all
rather than depleting resources. The authors give real-life examples of buildings and products they
have designed using C2C ideology, such as the Ford Motors River Rouge factory. The authors end
the book with some guidelines and principles of C2C design.
Their vision may sound like some utopian fantasy (which it may very well be right now), but gears are
turning to turn this type of design into reality. Many people support C2C design, but the book and the
authors, McDonough in particular, have received criticism throughout the years. The heaviest criticism
lies on McDonoughs monopolizing actions that seem to forever hinder the widespread application of
C2C (TM) design despite numerous opportunities for the model to gain a strong foothold in major
international companies like Nike. McDonough is infamous for clinging onto intellectual property rights
rather than relinquishing proprietary control of C2C design and allowing it to spread. Many dislike that
McDonoughs C2C consulting company, which certifies products, lacks transparency despite repeated
claims to make their data available to the public. McDonough is also accused of overhyping his
achievements and masking failures. C2Cs track record is less than stellar despite a large following.
Maybe C2C design will flourish if McDonough finally decides to open source C2C, or McDonough
may fade into the annals of history as people shift to other similar certification systems or use generic
terms to describe what is essential C2C design. However, the idea of a society without waste has
already captivated the attention of many, and will probably continue to spread throughout
manufacturing.
Sources: McDonough and Braungart, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things


Source : http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/node/427
http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/faculty-resources/summary/review-of-william-
mcdonough-and-michael-braungart-cradle-to-cradle-remaking-the-way-we-make-
things/4253

Book Review: Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
For those to are ecologically minded, a key part of creating any new product is to produce a life cycle
assessment (LCA), which is also known as a cradle-to-grave analysis, working from manufacture (cradle)
to use and disposal (grave). The LCA investigates all of the environmental impacts of that product and
attempts to minimise that damage.
One of the key premises of McDonough and Brangarts Cradle to Cradle is that minimising damage just
isnt good enough. Instead, the authors propose that we change our entire design processes so that reuse
and nourishment are built right into the process. Instead of minimising waste, we create value.
Cradle to Cradle goes beyond the notion of having recycling as the final step in a process flow, and
instead builds on the idea that waste need not exist at all. We can design our lives and products around the
notion of nourishment from the way we live to how we design and produce goods. The natural world
provides the template for what the authors suggest, from the regenerative world of the insect, to the cherry
tree, to the use of natural nutrients such as solar and wind power. They suggest that the key to working
within, rather than against, nature is to respect biodiversity, respect the elegance and abundance of what is
around us, and begin our design process with the notion of there is no such thing as waste:
Industries that respect diversity engage with local material and energy flows, and with local social,
cultural, and economic forces, instead of viewing themselves as autonomous entities, unconnected to the
culture or landscape around them. (122).
The writing style itself is clear, simple, and suitable for all ages and knowledge levels. Different readers
will take different things from the book. It is addressed to those that do design for a living, and for those
who are professionals in industry, this book will serve as a manual for development.
But all of us are engaged in creation and consumption in one way or another (the machine Im using to
type this on, or the reams of paper my kids draw on to take two general examples) and the choices we
make on how we will conduct those activities, and seeing ourselves as all being part of the great cradle to
cradle cycle is an important step forward.
The book spends some time discussing the whole notion of dangerous design principles, including the way
in which downcycling only defers the problem as products become more and more unstable (and
environmentally problematic) as they are recycled. Although Ive yet to see plastic books become a trend,
the book itself is an example of how a product can be manufactured in a way that will be infinitely
valuable.
Its made out of synthetic paper which doesnt use wood pulp or any dangerous inks or substances, and is
both waterproof and pleasurable to read, with nice thick pages and clear ink. The book goes into quite a lot
of detail about what it would mean to design products that werent less bad, but rather 100% good. The
authors look at architecture and how we can design buildings that take into account the diversity of their
settings, and the natural needs of their inhabitants.
The book concludes with Five Steps to Eco-Effectiveness, a neat summary of how to put the
philosophical principles discussed in the book into practice. Some of these, such as Step 2: Follow
informed personal preferences may seem a little unusual, advocating that we use our aesthetic sense, our
observations and our own sense of pleasure (yes, pleasure) to guide our design decisions. While others,
such as Step 4: Reinvent may seem almost too broad for the average reader. However, the book is full of
so many specific examples, primarily from industry, that its easy to picture what they are advocating
working in practice. After all, the book itself is not only beautifully and safely designed to fit the cradle-
to-cradle philosophy, it is also written in a way that is easily read, linguistically elegant and appealing,
and sound in its advice.
As a writer, I can see the sense in taking on this holistic approach to environmentalism, ditching the
hysteria and the mass of finger-pointing practices which look green but which dont actually make much of
a difference, and taking on this approach in a whole body sense. Its powerful stuff and the impact is
starting to happen, perhaps a little too slowly, but, as the authors say, its going to take foreverthats the
point.
Source : http://blogcritics.org/book-review-cradle-to-cradle-by/

http://prezi.com/r2260qsrox-r/book-review-of-cradle-to-cradle/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/58028979/Cradle-to-Cradle-by-Diane-Dale
http://www.scribd.com/doc/175572467/Coolest-Cradle-to-Cradle-Ideas
http://sosaphilau.blogspot.in/2009/08/cradle-to-cradle-chapter-5-respesct.html
http://sosaphilau.blogspot.in/2009/08/cradle-to-cradle-chapter-6-putting-eco.html