Frequently asked questions about Cradle to Cradle (and answers) are:

Could you give me some (more) information about Cradle to Cradle?
We would advise you to watch the documentary Waste equals food that was made by Vpro television. To watch it click here. (A copy can be ordered at www.VPRO.nl). Or one could watch the film The next industrial revolution. Then read the book. Cradle to Cradle, remaking the way we make things. Also the Hannover Principels will give insight into the minds of Michael Braungart and William McDonough. These principals can be googled and downloaded from the internet.

Where do I find other Cradle to Cradle fans?
They may be found on the Cradle to Cradle networks on internet. See under the links on this website. Also one can meet live in congresses and seminars on Cradle to Cradle in the Netherlands, which is regularly. One big event coming up is the Nutec in Frankfurt in november 2008. See www.nutec.de Also SenterNovem, the Dutch subsidiesoffice for the Ministery of Environment hosts networkmeetings on the topic. For information mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Is there a Cradle to Cradle accreditation?
Yes, there is a certificationsystem in place. More information can be found on www.mbdc.com You can find many already certified products on this site.

Where can I buy these products?
Many products are business to business. But there are also some consumer products on the market. There is carpet from Shaw Industries and officefurniture from Steelcase and Herman Miller for instance. Many other products may be found on www.epea.com or www.mbdc.com Also you can have a look in the databank of Material Connexion.

I would like to use the name Cradle to Cradle.
This name is a brandname of MBDC. The company of Michael Braungart and William McDonough. Only this organisation can give you permission to use it. The name is protected fo the integrety and quality of the concept.

But that makes it impossible to work with the concept!
No, anybody can apply Cradle to Cradle. Only the name is protected. Michael Braungart jokes about this by suggesting interested parties can call it Noodle to Noodle. But please just do it!

A lot is happening in the Netherlands. Isn't that true?
Yes. The province of Limburg has started to apply Cradle to Cradle in developmentprojects. The region of Venlo started with the Floriade and after that the rest of the province followed. The city of Almere has hired William McDonough for a large housing project for a citydevelopmentproject (in the Province Flevoland) Maastricht had a brainstorm with Michael Braungart about the application of Cradle to Cradle in innercity redevelopment for the A2 project (1.5 billion euro project). Van Houtum Papier is redesigning her factory to be entirely selfsufficiënt. Van Gansewinkel (waste and wasterecycling company) is investing in Cradle to Cradle. The Ministery for Environment and Economics are pushing the concept. Networks are evolving, on internet www.linkedin.com and live with Senternovem the subsidiesoffice for the Ministeries of Environment and Economics. There is a journalists video an info weblog on www.cradletocradle.nl  And this is just a tip of the iceberg.

I would like to get certified. How does that work?
For this you can go to either MBDC or EPEA. The certificationproces for an existing product is 1. material analyses (clean and recyclable in either technical or biological loops 2. logistics (the product is designed for disassembly) 3. water (the use of water does not result in bringing dirty water into the sewage system or ecological system, but preferably creates cycles of clean water (water can be reused endlessly)  4. clean energy (solar, wind or geothermic) 5. the product is created in social equity (no child labor, honest prices, etc).
For consultancy on Cradle to Cradle MBDC or EPEA or one of their sattelite partners in coutries around the world can be contacted. Within the Netherlands Search, Imsa, Beco and Evoke are partners and are accredited Cradle to Cradle consultants.

Which countries have Cradle to Cradle affiliates?
We do not know exactly. But google the translation of Cradle to Cradle in your own language and you'll find a lot. In Danish Vugge til Vugge will help. In Spanish it is de Cuna à Cuna and in French it is du Berceau au Berceau.

Lately there has been some criticism on Cradle to Cradle. What are your thoughts about this?
The criticism in the Netherlands was firstly aired because of the worry that it might stimulate consumerism as Cradle to Cradle promises that consumers can consume Cradle to Cradle products endlessly and abundantly without feeling guilty. This is an obviously an understandible worry. If Cradle to Cradle is applied however, the claim is at least true in so far that sustainable growth is possible. But even a Cradle to Cradle world has boudaries. There are only so many cherry trees in a pasture, are there not? Knowing this it is still a wonderful and intelligent concept that gives consumers and producers a positive outlook and more incentive to change then old school eco-effectiveness does. And that in itself is unique: it is a bridge between the green movement and commercial enterprise.

Does this mean that eco-effectiveness is nonsense?
No it certainly does not mean that! Eco-effectiveness is more evolved and more widely used then Cradle to Cradle and it is therefore still the most important way to reduce ecological footprint, if an eco-effective solution is not at hand.

What does Sustainable National Income have to do with Cradle to Cradle (SNIe)?
We think everything. The SNIe measures what our global National Income can be given that we wish our children and grandchildren to have the same recources that we have. In other words it measures how sustainable we are and it takes the natural recources and the current state of our technical evolution into account. 10 years ago the SNIe was measured by Roefie Hueting, the first eco-economist of the Netherlands (and one of the first worldwide) and was calculated at half of the global Income. In other words, we are now consuming twice what we should. And if we keep doing that we will eat up the earth. If we evolve technically the SNIe will be able to rise. So sustainable growth is actually a possibility. In other words, if we become Cradle to Cradle, the SNI may grow. If we do not evolve technically, we shall have cut back our global National Income to 50% of its current size to become sustainable.
The SNIe is a great method to measure where we are and where we are going. It can be used in micro-scale, for for instance a city or a business. The sientists who work wirth the Sustainable National Income can be found at CE Delft.

What does Planet Prosperity Foundation have to do with Cradle to Cradle?
The Planet Prosperity Foundation created the Let's Cradle campain which positions Cradle to Cradle as a transitional model. The Maastricht Let's Cradle congress was the first live platform where parties inspired by Cradle to Cradle in the Netherlands could meet in great numbers. Apart from that the foundation brings parties together who would like to get into contact with one another. Lately the foundation has been helping Danish Cradle to Cradle enthousiasts to set up their Cradle to Cradle campain in Denmark. This campain is set up under the name vugge til vugge (cradle to cradle in Danish). See www.vuggetilvugge.dk

Planet Prosperity Foundation became known in the Netherlands because it was responsible for the nationwide initiative to show nobelprizewinner Al Gore's climatefilm An Inconveniënt Truth for free in 20 cinema's in cities around the country every day for an entire month. The objectieve of this was to raise awareness about the state of our planet. The initiative created a surge in climatechange interest in the Netherlands.