Number of words: 160 A number of years ago we worked on a rent-a-solvent for a chemical company. A solvent is a chemical that is used to remove grease, for example, from machine parts. Companies ordinarily buy the cheapest degreasing solvent available, even if it comes from halfway around the globe. After its use, the … Read more

Number of words: 41 Henry Ford practiced an early from of up-cycling. When he had Model A trucks shipped in crates that became the vehicle’s floorboards when it reached its destination. Excerpted from Page 110 of ‘Cradle to Cradle’ by Michal Braungart and William McDonough

Number of words – 134 An olive-oil vendor returns from the marketplace and complains to a friend, “I can’t make money selling olive oil! By the times I feed the donkey that caries my oil to market, most of my profit is gone.” His friend suggests he feed the donkey a little less. Six weeks … Read more

Number of words – 226 For example, the average mass-produced piece of polyester clothing and a typical water bottle both contain antimony, a toxic heavy metal known to cause cancer under certain circumstances. Let’s put aside for the moment the issues of whether this substance represents a specific danger to the user. The question we … Read more

Number of words – 90 If the first industrial revolution had a motto, we like to joke; it would be “If brute force doesn’t work, you’re not using enough of it.” The attempt to impose universal design solutions on an infinite  number of local conditions and customs is one manifestation of this principle and its … Read more

Number of words – 292 In products design, a classic example of the universal design solution is mass-produced detergent. Major soap manufacturers design one detergent for all parts of the United States or Europe, even though water qualities and community needs differ. For example, customers in places with soft water, like the Northwest, need only … Read more