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The Upcycle
Book

The Upcycle

Beyond Sustainability – Designing for Abundance

William McDonough and Michael Braungart
North Point Press, 2013
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

William McDonough and Michael Braungart share the same depressing data as other environmental scientists and thought leaders, but they have a unique perspective on the world’s ecological problems. While well-intentioned innovators concentrate on “zero emission” design, McDonough and Braungart up the ante – they believe design can have zero impact on the Earth and even reverse past damage. They encourage readers to view themselves not as destructive parasites but as creative partners with the Earth. Their fascinating overview offers successful examples of how innovators who see design from a new perspective create ecologically helpful products. Even if this book slightly echoes the authors’ earlier Cradle to Cradle, a refresher course does no harm. It may well inspire you to reach higher and reconsider your approach to everyday ecology. getAbstract recommends these radical insights to activists, designers, policymakers, manufacturers and nonprofit workers concerned with global ecology.

Summary

“The Design Solution”

Pollution isn’t the real problem behind the Earth’s environmental woes. The true culprit is flawed design. If people created products more thoughtfully, they wouldn’t have to worry about pollution or shortages. Designers with full ecological awareness can create products that offer infinite utility and do no harm; they will help the Earth. The goal of “upcycling” is to “design or manufacture in a way that loves all of the children, of all species, for all time.”

The “Cradle to Cradle Framework”

Upcycling draws from “The Hannover Principles,” design guidelines written for the 2000 World’s Fair in Hannover, Germany. These principles are:

  • Humans and nature have a right to live side by side, flourish and endure.
  • Humans and nature are mutually dependent.
  • “Spirit and matter” share a relationship.
  • Humans are accountable for designs that adversely affect nature and other people.
  • People should create things that are not dangerous and will endure.
  • Nothing is wasted or thrown away; there is no “away.”
  • Energy moves through nature and is a source of benefit.
  • Design has constraints...

About the Authors

William McDonough and Michael Braungart co-authored Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, which explains “The Hannover Principles.”

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