Reading Reflection 03 (RR03)

Something that I have figured out reading the last couple of chapters is that the concept of Cradle to Cradle replaces the concept of Cradle to Grave, in which "things" goods have a entry point and an exit point in the consumption lifecycle. A "thing" is born manufactured, it is consumed, and then thrown away. Then a new "thing" is purchased. The idea of cradle to cradle proposes a new model of manufacturing and consumption, one in which products are sold as a "product of service", where the manufacturer, in a manner of speaking, leases the product to a customer, the customer uses the product, and at the end of the product's useful life as said product, is returned to the manufacturer, at which time the manufacturer is able to de-construct the product, reuse many of the component pieces and materials embodied in the original product to make a new product.

And something else I found out is that the authors argue that this extra design effort can be economical for businesses when you consider the overall cost of manufacturing. They give the example of a manufacturing facility they designed in which the effluent water from the factory was actually cleaner than the influent. It took some extra money to design, but now the business doesn't have to pay regulatory fees or worry about how to dispose of its liquid wastes. Overall, that initial design effort saved them money.