Cradle to Cradle, the book, is already posted in these pages elsewhere.

CRADLE TO CRADLE CERTIFICATION is helping to encourage and identify products in the marketplace that are designed with the inherent understanding that there is no 'away' to throw things (cradle to grave thinking becomes obsolete). So, for instance, carpet companies take back worn carpet and process it back into new AND give you a discount on your new carpet. No Cradle to Cradle certified product ends up in landfill.

When McDonough gave his rap at San Francisco Green Festival a couple years back, he said they were going for signing up 10,000 products as the first phase in establishing the program. Don't know where they're up to now but it's growing by the day.

From the website:

"Cradle to Cradle Certification provides a company with a means to tangibly, credibly measure achievement in environmentally-intelligent design and helps customers purchase and specify products that are pursuing a broader definition of quality.

This means using environmentally safe and healthy materials; design for material reutilization, such as recycling or composting; the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency; efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production; and instituting strategies for social responsibility.

If a candidate product achieves the necessary criteria, it is certified as a Silver, Gold or Platinum product or as a Technical/Biological Nutrient (available for homogeneous materials or less complex products), and can be branded as Cradle to Cradle."
____________________________________________________________________

McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry is a product and process design firm dedicated to transforming the design of products, processes, and services worldwide. The firm was founded in 1995 by William McDonough and Michael Braungart to promote and power "the Next Industrial Revolution" through intelligent design. We employ Cradle to Cradle Design using strategies we call "eco-effective" (rather than the widely promoted "eco-efficiency") to create products and systems that contribute to economic, social, and environmental prosperity.

reference link: http://www.c2ccertified.com/

The Creative Citizen Network: