Design according to the principles of Cradle to Cradle means taking into account the moment that the lifecycle of a product comes to end. Designers should create products that will be "food" for other products at the end of their lifecycles. Therefore the entire lifecycle of a product shall have to be scrutinized during the designfase, including the next life of a product and therefore we speak of "Cradle to Cradle". Re-using does not mean recycling as we use this term today. Current recycling is actually not really recycling but downcycling, because with every next life of a product the quality deteriorates. For instance, when recycling printed paper, we do not recycle paper and/or inkt but really pulp of inkt and paper combined.requiering polluting additives to make it usable. Next cycles will eventually lead to a paper and inkt pulp that has no use at all and is a severe pollutant. Within Cradle to Cradle recycling really becomes recycling because the quality of the recycled product does not deminish. Materials such as inkt and paper are seperated before their next life, so that they may be recycled as pure products. Paper may be reused or decomposed (not containing chemicals) and inkt is reusable. Therefore no loss of worth. Recycling can even become upcycling when a product improves during its life cycles. A plastic bottle for instance contains antimony, a carcinamous heavy metal. By taking out the antimony during recycling, the quality of the product improves. More... What is Cradle to Cradle An intelligent businessconcept A new industrial revolution Examples from industry A revolution in architecture Cradle-to-Cradle housing project in China. Productionmaterials should be entirely safe Reusing materials: waste = food A new way of designing