cradle to cradle

Looking ahead, I feel that Green Design will be to the 21st Century what Modernism was to the 20th. The truly revolutionary spirit of Green Design is perhaps best expressed by the concept of Cradle to Cradle Certification.

The goal of cradle-to-cradle design is that, instead of our traditional cradle-to-grave (i.e. factory-to-landfill) production "cycle," we design products from the outset with the intention of reusing their materials. To be truly effective, this requires a re-envisioning of the design and production process. Instead of viewing a product as something created and sold, designers could see their design as one possible "incarnation" of the materials used--one of many. Inspired by the continuous recycling of biological material in an ecosystem, the cradle-to-cradle designer creates with the intention that his product has a finite lifespan after which its components find new life in other products.

Currently, cradle-to-cradle certification serves to both recognize products that are healthier for people and the planet and goad the industry into coming ever closer the ideal of an "industrial ecosystem" production cycle.