As I understand it, it is an approach to design in all its forms, a new way to approach industry and commerce and overall the way humans live and do business on the earth. It embraces the natural, and sites natural systems as it's inspiration.
Consider the cherry tree: thousands of blossoms create fruit for birds, humans, and other animals, in order that one pit might eventually fall onto the ground, take root, and grow. Who would look at the ground littered with cherry blossoms and complain, How inefficient and wasteful! The tree makes copious blossoms and fruit without depleting its environment. Once they fall on the ground, their materials decompose and break down into nutrients that nourish microorganisms, insects, plants, animals, and soil. Although the tree actually makes more of its product than it needs for its own success in an ecosystem, this abundance has evolved (through millions of years of success and failure or, in business terms, R&D), to serve rich and varied purposes. In fact, the tree?s fecundity nourishes just about everything around it. What might the human built world look like if the cherry tree had produced? (Cradle to Cradle, M Braungart and W McDonough)
With regards specifically to product design it considers the full life cycle of products. Most products are designed with a cradle to grave philosophy, at the end of a product's useful life we throw it 'away'... but there is no away. Valuable metals and minerals are lost to landfill, gone forever, at best providing no benefit to nature and at worst poisoning soil and water supplies. Toxic chemicals are used in everyday items in our homes and offices. They not only are released as the product degrades so effecting us, they make hazardous waste when we decide to get rid of the product.
The current mantra of reduce, reuse, recycle only goes part way to addressing the issues we face today. It implies a strategy of business as usual... and a philosophy of being 'less bad', we can carry on doing harmful things but just do less of them! The major problem with this is that products that were not designed to be recycled in the first place are very hard to disassemble, process and reassemble. By combining natural and man made materials and using harmful chemicals to do so it makes it very difficult to separate the products after use. In stead of things being recycled into products that are of equal quality they are downcycled into inferior quality items, until they are once again put into landfill.
The current messages of environmentalism based on guilt and fear, although born out of a desire to reverse the current degradation of the natural environment, have only gone so far to achieving their aims. We are told that we have destroyed our planet and climate change will kill us all and destroy earth as we know it. Although there is obvious misgivings for which western consumerist society is responsible for. The current media, government and in some cases environmentalist message does little to instill the positive mindset needed to address these problems. Radical thinking, positivity, collaboration and imagination are needed so that we may conceive a world where humans live in harmony with nature and perhaps even positively enhancing the world.
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Albert EinsteinCradle to cradle advocates design that not only aims to combine form and function. It seeks to positively enhance the life of people and the natural environment. It is not so much about reducing consumption as re thinking it. I believe that cradle to cradle is a case in point for the prophecy of the eagle and the condor. Western technology, science and intelligence coming together with indigenous spirituality, philosophy and intuition once again. http://www.mtnmath.com/condor.html
It is a practical tool that is achievable, economically viable and with a little bit of effort ready to be applied. The technology in many cases exists and with more support can be created. If commercial, social and political will exists this is a wholly positive and progressive solution that can satisfy our want for economic growth while connecting us with the natural world once again.
“Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.” Albert EinsteinHere are some examples of packaging that have adopted the cradle to cradle approach, http://spcdesignlibrary.org/items/index
