Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
by: William McDonough, Michael Braungart
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Amazon.com Review:
Paper or plastic? Neither, say William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Why settle for the least harmful alternative when we could have something that is better--say, edible grocery bags! In Cradle to Cradle, the authors present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete. Recycling, for instance, is actually "downcycling," creating hybrids of biological and technical "nutrients" which are then unrecoverable and unusable. The authors, an architect and a chemist, want to eliminate the concept of waste altogether, while preserving commerce and allowing for human nature. They offer several compelling examples of corporations that are not just doing less harm--they're actually doing some good for the environment and their neighborhoods, and making more money in the process. Cradle to Cradle is a refreshing change from the intractable environmental conflicts that dominate headlines. It's a handbook for 21st-century innovation and should be required reading for business hotshots and environmental activists. --Therese Littleton
Product Description:
A manifesto for a radically different philosophy and practice of manufacture and environmentalism
"Reduce, reuse, recycle" urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. As William McDonough and Michael Braungart argue in their provocative, visionary book, however, this approach perpetuates a one-way, "cradle to grave" manufacturing model that dates to the Industrial Revolution and casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. Why not challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world, they ask.
In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, "waste equals food" is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are).
Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, the authors make an exciting and viable case for change.
Book Description:
Paper or plastic? Neither, say William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Why settle for the least harmful alternative when we could have something that is better--say, edible grocery bags! In Cradle to Cradle, the authors present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete. Recycling, for instance, is actually "downcycling," creating hybrids of biological and technical "nutrients" which are then unrecoverable and unusable. The authors, an architect and a chemist, want to eliminate the concept of waste altogether, while preserving commerce and allowing for human nature. They offer several compelling examples of corporations that are not just doing less harm--they're actually doing some good for the environment and their neighborhoods, and making more money in the process. Cradle to Cradle is a refreshing change from the intractable environmental conflicts that dominate headlines. It's a handbook for 21st-century innovation and should be required reading for business hotshots and environmental activists. --Therese Littleton
Product Description:
A manifesto for a radically different philosophy and practice of manufacture and environmentalism
"Reduce, reuse, recycle" urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. As William McDonough and Michael Braungart argue in their provocative, visionary book, however, this approach perpetuates a one-way, "cradle to grave" manufacturing model that dates to the Industrial Revolution and casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. Why not challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world, they ask.
In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, "waste equals food" is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are).
Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, the authors make an exciting and viable case for change.
Book Description:
"Reduce, reuse, recycle" urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. As William McDonough and Michael Braungart argue in their provocative, visionary book, however, this approach perpetuates a one-way, "cradle to grave" manufacturing model that dates to the Industrial Revolution and casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. Why not challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world, they ask.
In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, "waste equals food" is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are).
Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, the authors make an exciting and viable case for change.
In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, "waste equals food" is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are).
Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, the authors make an exciting and viable case for change.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Empowering principles, but emphasizes corporate and not individual action...
"Cradle to Cradle" reads quickly, and is worthwhile if you're interested in environmental design because it presents an essentially optimistic message: environmental problems can be reduced to (soluble) design problems. The authors, Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart, invoke a change in design paradigm centered on one aphorism--"waste is food." The authors contrast natural systems, which evolved to continually cycle limiting nutrients, to our industrial system, which creates products without regard ... Read More
Rating: 
- Inspiring!
This is one of my favorite books.Anyone interested in sustainable design be it architectural, personal, or from a business perspective will benefit from this visionary author's work.McDonough has been the principle architect of numerous cutting edge designs.If you are unfamiliar with his work, I recommend checking out the author's website to see some of the amazing buildings he's created and their system of investigating materials and the subsequent selection criteria that goes into a project.... Read More
Rating: - Inspiring
I am an engineer, IT consultant and MBA and this book just gave me something I was looking for so long: It gave an answer about how to solve current time issues of overpopulation, natural resources depletion and pollution. It gave me hope because the alternative of going back to the wild or to the ideallized living of farmers 100 years ago was never realistic to me.
I really think this is the way to follow: It talks about changing the T of technology for the S of sustainable technology in the famous ... Read More
Rating: - This is it, this is the one I've been waiting for
Cradle to Cradle is great.It's an easy read, not very comlicated, and extremely effective at painting a picture of most any environmental issue. This book is very motivational.I would highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in the environment. I wish I could find the words to say more good things about this book.Read it.
Rating: - Great book
First of all, I was completely amazed by the materials that the book was made out of. It really showed that there are alternatives to what we're currently using. Second, the book was just fascinating. It really opens your eyes to a different way of looking at design and sustainability. My only complaint is that I wish it discussed costs more. The only mention I can recall is that they said an eco-effective building that they created cost 10% more than the alternative. There should have been at least a chapter ... Read More
- Empowering principles, but emphasizes corporate and not individual action..."Cradle to Cradle" reads quickly, and is worthwhile if you're interested in environmental design because it presents an essentially optimistic message: environmental problems can be reduced to (soluble) design problems. The authors, Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart, invoke a change in design paradigm centered on one aphorism--"waste is food." The authors contrast natural systems, which evolved to continually cycle limiting nutrients, to our industrial system, which creates products without regard ... Read More
- Inspiring!This is one of my favorite books.Anyone interested in sustainable design be it architectural, personal, or from a business perspective will benefit from this visionary author's work.McDonough has been the principle architect of numerous cutting edge designs.If you are unfamiliar with his work, I recommend checking out the author's website to see some of the amazing buildings he's created and their system of investigating materials and the subsequent selection criteria that goes into a project.... Read More
- InspiringI am an engineer, IT consultant and MBA and this book just gave me something I was looking for so long: It gave an answer about how to solve current time issues of overpopulation, natural resources depletion and pollution. It gave me hope because the alternative of going back to the wild or to the ideallized living of farmers 100 years ago was never realistic to me.
I really think this is the way to follow: It talks about changing the T of technology for the S of sustainable technology in the famous ... Read More
- This is it, this is the one I've been waiting forCradle to Cradle is great.It's an easy read, not very comlicated, and extremely effective at painting a picture of most any environmental issue. This book is very motivational.I would highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in the environment. I wish I could find the words to say more good things about this book.Read it.
- Great bookFirst of all, I was completely amazed by the materials that the book was made out of. It really showed that there are alternatives to what we're currently using. Second, the book was just fascinating. It really opens your eyes to a different way of looking at design and sustainability. My only complaint is that I wish it discussed costs more. The only mention I can recall is that they said an eco-effective building that they created cost 10% more than the alternative. There should have been at least a chapter ... Read More
