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What's more important--recycled content or recyclable materials?

In a perfect world each and every product would be both, resulting in zero waste. Cradle-to-cradle, articulated as a new design paradigm by Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart, embodies this very concept by rejecting the "take-make-waste" way that most things are made.

-- Interior Design, 9/4/2007 12:00:00 AM

In a perfect world each and every product would be both, resulting in zero waste. Cradle-to-cradle, articulated as a new design paradigm by Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart, embodies this very concept by rejecting the "take-make-waste" way that most things are made. Instead, the McDonough/Braungart design firm MBDC is creating products with materials that are perpetually circulated in closed loops. This is not easily done; products must contain only materials that are environmentally safe and capable of being reutilized (recycled or composted) at the end of their useful lives. However, dozens of products have obtained Cradle-to-Cradle Certification and USGBG recently announced that the use of these products can earn an Innovation In Design point in the LEED rating system.

This doesn't really answer the question since, as we know, we haven't yet found that perfect world. Recycled content is more reliable because a manufacturer can certify what it has put into its products while only a small percentage of items labeled as recyclable actually make it through the process. My suggestion is to try and find products that contain a reasonable amount of recycled content, have a long life and are returnable to a manufacturer-sponsored recycling take-back program. Many carpets fall under this description.

While we're on the subject I'd like to recommend a reusable bag that I particularly like. Made by Bag the Habit this handsome, sturdy and durable shopping bag is large enough to haul a day's worth of fabric samples from the showrooms back to the office (or several shoe boxes home from your weekend excursions.) Made partly from recycled content, the bag is 100% recyclable and need be used only 11 times to realize a quantifiable environmental impact. The cost: $8.00. Get several!