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Production Ethics and culture More social issues Local crafts Production in the future Cotton from field to textile Conventional vs organic cotton Wool in production Linen and hemp Synthetics Rayon Other materials and yarns Scouring and bleaching Textile treatments Bioblasting Dyeing Elemental_textiles Enzymes explained Treating jeans Cradle to Cradle All the details Water issues

Cradle to Cradle® Design

Cradle to Cradle® looks at the bright side of life: A future without waste. A future without negative effects on human health and nature. This could mean a totally new way of looking at mass-consumption. But also focuses on how important design actually is in the ecological footprint of a given product.

textile loop One could argue that environmental problems mainly have their roots in the design and planning phase of products and materials. By intelligent design the problems we face today could be avoided. The philosophy of Cradle to Cradle® rejects the idea that growth is a threat to the environment; after all, in nature, growth is good. Rather than seeking to minimize the harm we make within traditional industrial frameworks, design could a beneficial, regenerative force that seeks to create positive ecological footprints, making good things grow.

People, places and cultures differ

Cradle to Cradle® Design Principles are inspired by nature: Waste could equal food. In nature there is no such thing as “‘waste”, since the waste of one system becomes food for another. Materials can be designed to be safely returned to the soil in biological cycles, or recycled as high-quality materials in technical cycles in industry. A second principle is to use current solar income. Industry powered by the sun (solar, wind, water) could support environmental health and leave no negative CO2 footprint. C2C also celebrates diversity. People, places and cultures differ. One size does not fit all. By embracing individual uniqueness and needs we can create industries that take care of social, health and environmental issues. They also ask us to anticipate evolution. No human creation lasts forever and no design can solve all issues at once. Allowing for adaptation and change ensure designs can accommodate evolving needs.

Material Flows
are the core of Cradle to Cradle®. Instead of seeing materials as a waste management problem and trying to slow down their trip from cradle to grave, materials are seen as nutrients that can be maintained in biological or technical cycles. In biological cycles, materials and substances that support life on Earth – water, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide – will become nutrients to create new life through biodegrading and composting. In textiles this may be wool, cotton, flax, bamboo, eucalyptus-based lyocell etc. In technical cycles valuable synthetics and metals flow in closed loops of recycling and remanufacture. This includes all technical textiles, polyester/nylon/fleece, elastics, zippers, buttons etc. By designing intelligent manufacturing processes and specifying safe non-toxic ingredients, we can create and use materials with good consciousness.

Pure Origin black webBeyond legal compliance
Textiles often contain higher rates of dangerous substances than what is legal or good for health and nature. In addition there are substances we never get to know about because they are not regulated or never checked. “Free of” one substance doesn`t automatically mean the material or product is good for you. We do not know what it is replaced by or what else is in there. Cradle to Cradle® defines safe ingredients instead of “free of”. Materials are assessed according to their potential hazardous effect on exposed organisms, reproduction, food chains and material cycles, ensuring only substances compatible with health and nature are being accepted. By implementing Cradle to Cradle® criteria into the design and development process we avoid many risks and negative effects that are connected to our current industrial practices. This affects both environment and economy in a positive way.

wool washCradle to Cradle® examples
Triumph International AG’s Pure Origin Collection, 2007 : Produced for the Biological Cycle: Organic Cotton, biodegradable elastics, C2C approved colors and process chemicals. 

Trigema GmbH’s Compostable Sport T-shirt: Biodegradable cotton (from conventional cotton farming), C2C approved colors and threads, PLA buttons

Dr Petry Textile Auxiliaries’ Petry-Lanazym: Wool pre-treatment based on enzymes for machine wash up to 40° C
No chemicals, wool stays whiter, better colorings, less pilling, Öko-Tex approved

The Cradle to Cradle® philosophy was developed by US Architect William McDonough and German chemist Michael Braungart. See under Resources for more information about Cradle to Cradle® Certification, under Certifications. Click on Earth Pledge's Guide to Certifications.