Cradle to Cradle and Cradle to Grave

Design has become one of the most important tools in the fight against the "sins" of the industrial revolution, however the notion of using less or reducing itself doesn't truly solve the problem, it only delays the results of the growing global crisis.


In the Book Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and  Michael Braungrat, we see how most design isn't based on the cradle to cradle mentality (where everything is mutually beneficial to both humans and the environment) but rather the cradle to grave mentality (where products are just consumed and consumed with little to no concern for the environment).

The book is like a manifesto outlining the steps to achieve more productive and sound design model called Cradle to Cradle. It suggests that industry needs to under go a radical change, where the cradle to grave system is switched for the cradle to cradle design model. The idea of "Reuse, Reduce, Recycle", the book suggests does not solve the environmental crisis but rather perpetuate this outdated way of thinking and more changes need to be made in order for real results to be made.

The entire book is printed on a plastic polymer, which can be used and reused to create another book. It is fully recyclable and in a way promotes the idea of cradle to cradle design thinking.

Statistically speaking most products, especially in the United States don't out live the packaging they are wrapped in, a chocolate bar is a prime example of this. When opened, the chocolate is consumed and the packaging is all that is left. Perhaps in the future, the chocolate bar and the packaging can both be edible or perhaps the packaging is completely bio-degradable and when it decomposes it releases seeds into the soil? this could be a way of avoiding the constant cycle of throwing away and making more.

The Book goes into great detail about how in order to solve the global environmental problem, is not to reduce or use less but rather to design systems that both benefit human needs but also that are both nurturing and beneficial to the environment, without which we would struggle to survive.