Jono's review
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
by William McDonough, Michael Braungart
Jono's review
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough, Michael Braungart
Jono's review
rating:
recommended for: Designers
The authors tell an encouraging and interesting story about our approach to product development and use today. One where the product 'lifecycle' is from 'cradle' to 'grave' - a product is made and when it dies it goes 'away.' They give lots of good examples of a) why that is a bad thing and b) how we can do it better by opting for a cradle to cradle mentality.
What I liked most about this book was how they peeled apart the subtle metaphors that strongly affect our outlook today for products. Things like: throwing something 'away' (in a closed system!); a strive for 'efficiency' rather than 'effectiveness;' how recycling is more often 'downcycling' (use in a lower quality product) and how we should strive for 'upcycling' when possible; our outlook that doesn't tend to look much past the current generation; our dominate nature mentality rather than living interdependently; our view of natural 'resources' and ourselves as 'consumers.
They also introduced some of their own metaphors ...more
What I liked most about this book was how they peeled apart the subtle metaphors that strongly affect our outlook today for products. Things like: throwing something 'away' (in a closed system!); a strive for 'efficiency' rather than 'effectiveness;' how recycling is more often 'downcycling' (use in a lower quality product) and how we should strive for 'upcycling' when possible; our outlook that doesn't tend to look much past the current generation; our dominate nature mentality rather than living interdependently; our view of natural 'resources' and ourselves as 'consumers.
They also introduced some of their own metaphors ...more
