Review
`It's one of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read' --Daily Express
Book Description
A groundbreaking, passionately-argued and visionary call to arms
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This extreme book is an example of it's own preachings. The book doesnt contain a single ounce of paper. In fact it's made out of a fully recyclable plastic material, and the non-toxic ink can be removed with special non-toxic chemicals. Basically it's the future of a fully recyclable book design. Amazing!
Although quite an intense read, it is quite interesting and at times captivating. Based on an architect and a scientist that teamed up and work on projects to basically help companies become more environmentally friendly.
Examples include the book design, Ford Motor company, and other examples of products that can slowly pollute the environment and possible solutions to these products. Alot of the solutions can be recycled over and over, as the cradle to cradle title suggests.
The book also describes the difference between the Technosphere and Biosphere, and how products from these two different environments interact with each other and the world around us.
Reccomended read, and the book is fully waterproof - Genius!
48 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an extraordinary and unlikely book. It is not printed on paper, but on a waterproof polymer with the heft of good paper and more strength, a substance that reflects the right amount of light, yet holds the ink fast. It seems like an impossible fantasy, but so does much of what the authors propose about design and ecology. They speak with the calm certainty of the ecstatic visionary. Could buildings generate oxygen like trees? Could running shoes release nutrients into the earth? It seems like science fiction. Yet, here is this book, on this paper. The authors make a strong case for change, and just when you're about to say, "if only," they cite a corporation that is implementing their ideas. However, it's hard to believe their concepts would work on a large scale, in the face of powerful economic disincentives. We believe authors do aim some of their criticism at obsolete marketing and manufacturing philosophies, but the overall critique is well worth reading.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Cradle to Cradle is a manifesto for the new consumer - a mall-nirvana of non toxic products, endlessly `up-cycled' and replaceable; sustainability without the need to change our consuming habits.
Shrugging off alternative strategies as too dour and depressing, the authors put their faith in the belief that we can design our way out of the current predicament of toxic and crude products and create a virtuous circle of product creation, use and "up-cycling" to preserve precious resources and reduce our impact on the planet.
This is an appealing vision and one has to admire the work of co-authors Bill and Michael over many years in developing and testing their theory. But I was left more than a little disappointed as I realised not just the practical limits of their approach but also the philosophy that seemed to underlie their proposition.
This is a manifesto for accelerated consumerism, an evolutionary attempt to overcome the problems we have created through ignorance and myopia. At no point do the authors seem to question the wisdom of consumerism in a shrinking world or its instant appeal and ramifications for a global population of almost 7billion today and maybe 9 billion by 2050.
Maybe I was expecting too much, but even if every product complied with the cradle-to-cradle philosophy we would still be an awfully long way from a sustainable, let alone just world. I can't help but feel that even if the Cradle-to-Cradle philosophy was able to generate the abundance of endlessly re-cycled products it proposes, we will still require a more fundamental appraisal of why we want so much `stuff' we do not need in the first place, regardless of how it is designed and produced.
I am reminded of the Irish farmer's response to the request for directions from a lost tourist, "Well, if I was you, I wouldn't be starting out from here." Making existing product's more eco-friendly and efficient sounds a very worthy goal but maybe the first question we should be asking is, "Do we really need them in the first place?"
Shrugging off alternative strategies as too dour and depressing, the authors put their faith in the belief that we can design our way out of the current predicament of toxic and crude products and create a virtuous circle of product creation, use and "up-cycling" to preserve precious resources and reduce our impact on the planet.
This is an appealing vision and one has to admire the work of co-authors Bill and Michael over many years in developing and testing their theory. But I was left more than a little disappointed as I realised not just the practical limits of their approach but also the philosophy that seemed to underlie their proposition.
This is a manifesto for accelerated consumerism, an evolutionary attempt to overcome the problems we have created through ignorance and myopia. At no point do the authors seem to question the wisdom of consumerism in a shrinking world or its instant appeal and ramifications for a global population of almost 7billion today and maybe 9 billion by 2050.
Maybe I was expecting too much, but even if every product complied with the cradle-to-cradle philosophy we would still be an awfully long way from a sustainable, let alone just world. I can't help but feel that even if the Cradle-to-Cradle philosophy was able to generate the abundance of endlessly re-cycled products it proposes, we will still require a more fundamental appraisal of why we want so much `stuff' we do not need in the first place, regardless of how it is designed and produced.
I am reminded of the Irish farmer's response to the request for directions from a lost tourist, "Well, if I was you, I wouldn't be starting out from here." Making existing product's more eco-friendly and efficient sounds a very worthy goal but maybe the first question we should be asking is, "Do we really need them in the first place?"
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
tark realisation that we need to do something now
This book has changed my life. Really interesting points of view and for someone who was vaguely interested in the idea of recycling, it has opened up lots of ideas on up cycling... Read more
Published 4 months ago by A. stephenson
Re-think what you know.
This book really makes you think. It borders on scary but generally sticks to being very scientific in it's non-biased look at the environment. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mark Walton
Eco-Effectiveness: a new way of thinking
What I liked most about this book is the concept of eco-effectiveness. Braungart explains how businesses are able to become more environmental friendly and more profitable by... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Frank Röttgers
Excellent ideas, not so well presented
I read the book because I had listened to a lecture by the same name, by McDonough, on iTunesU. It was worth reading the book to refresh the ideas and get a bit more depth, but... Read more
Published 15 months ago by anglolisa
Why we need a new industrial revolution, and how it can be done
Already something of a classic, Cradle to Cradle: Re-making the way we make things is an influential call for an industrial design revolution. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Jeremy Williams
Everyone should read this!
A fantastic book that everyone should/must read! I found this book inspiring, although I had heard the principles and the name of the book mentioned before I had never read it and... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Kirbie
Review of "Cradle to Cradle"
This book is a "must read" for anyone concerned with waste, pollution and / or resource depletion. On the face of it, it is about recycling, and not much more, but the rigour of... Read more
Published 19 months ago by David Weight
A fresh look at how at how we do things
A wake-up call to industry: how you can produce smarter products, save money, be profitable - and save the planet. Highly recommendable!
Published 20 months ago by net_efekt
Need help to imagine a sustainable future without giving up all our...
Word of warning to anyone who already has the last edition - this is not a significant new revision - there are disappointingly few new revelations here. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Jamie Osborne
Well worth reading
Well worth reading. And lending out, again and again.
No point in duplicating the descriptions already provided - This book should is highly recommended for a reason.
No point in duplicating the descriptions already provided - This book should is highly recommended for a reason.
Published 21 months ago by cebeautifulca
Popular Highlights
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The Cradle to Cradle approach is to see waste as food, as a nutrient for what's to come.
Highlighted by 27 Kindle users
the product itself contains on average only 5 percent of the raw materials involved in the process of making and delivering it.
Highlighted by 22 Kindle users
Don't make it an ethical problem; make it a quality-oflife problem. Whatever you do, look at the quality of what you do. When we make it an ethical problem, we will not solve it.
Highlighted by 21 Kindle users
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