Archive for March, 2008

Cradle to Cradle


This book is one of those things that once you realize it exists you wonder why you didn’t look for it sooner. Cradle to Cradle is no average book. Just picking it up is an experience. It’s printed on a new “synthetic paper,” which is essentially plastic and is waterproof!
But what it’s printed on is only a metaphor for what the book is all about, “Rethinking the Way We Make Things.”
Have you ever thought it was strange that it cost more to fix your camera than to get a new one? Have you ever wondered why there are no more cobblers in your area? Read this book (I’ve only just begun) and start to understand the world around you.
These two men have made it their lives to figure out ways to make things so that they won’t be thrown away or down-cycled (their word for modern recycling).

“Cradle to Cradle maps the lineaments of McDonough and Braungart’s new design paradigm, offering practical steps on how to innovate within today’s economic environment. Part social history, part green business primer, part design manual, the book makes plain that the re-invention of human industry is not only within our grasp, it is our best hope for a future of sustaining prosperity.”