Resources and Waste Management Session 1.6 –

Designing products of the future

Jens Soth, Helvetas

Cradle to cradle design innovations towards a cycle economy

Are they too many ?

The Biomass of ants equals the biomass of humans

Cradle to grave design paradigm

BAD DESIGN OF TOYS: TOXIC GASEOUS EMISSIONS...

cyclohexanon alkyl aromatics

2-ethylhexanol

Heavy metals in toys

Cradle to cradle design paradigm

• Waste equals food

• Use solar income

• Celebrate diversity

Regenerate

Regenerate

Take

MakeMake

Take

C2C concept 1: biological systems

C2C concept 2: technical systems

Regenerate

Regenerate

Take

MakeMake

Take

Cradle to cradle versus cradle to grave

Cradle to grave design paradigm

• Dematerialization

• Reduced toxicity

• Downcycling

• Extended product lifespan

Cradle to cradle design paradigm

• Free of…..

• Systems decision

• Positive list – get the commodities right

• Intelligent materials pooling

Ex. 1 for a biological product system

Climatex Lifecycle furniture fabric

Ex. 2 for a biological product system

Trigema compostable T-Shirt

Ex. 3 for a biological product system

Organic cotton shirt of the city of Zurich

Organic implies taking care of soil fertility

Getting the commodities right: Monetary benefits of organic cotton projects

1. Bio-premium

2. Fair-trade premium

3. Potential to increase yield while reducing input costs

4. Further bio-products and income from crop rotation

5. Potential for added value generation within the production country

6. Emission certificates

Organic cotton projects of Helvetas

Mali• since 2002• > 4000 farmers

Senegal• since 2004• 220 farmers

Burkina Faso• since 2004• > 5000 farmers

Kyrgyzstan• since 2004• > 1200 farmers

Benin• Start 2008

Ex. 1 for a technical product system

Mirra chair of Herman Miller - a technical nutrient

Ex. 2 for a technical product system

Shaw carpet system - a technical nutrient

Ex. 3 for a technical product system

C2C – book of Michael Braungart and William Mc Donough

Ex. 3 for a technical product system

C2C – book of Michael Braungart and William Mc Donough

Intelligent Materials Pooling: join the club

• Knowledge base about innovative c2c-materials

• Libraries for materials

C2C- exhibition and conference

November 12-14, 2008FRANKFURT, GERMANYwww.messefrankfurt.com

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