Taipei, Oct. 24 (CNA) Rather than the traditional linear method of production, consumption and recycling, a different approach that makes products economically successful, healthy for users and supportive for the environment and future generations is making its mark, visiting German professor Michael Braungart said Wednesday.
Braungart, a chemistry professor and entrepreneur, is scheduled to conduct two workshops on the "Cradle to Cradle Design" idea during his stay in Taiwan, which is being organized by the German Culture Center.
"Instead of being less bad, we can be good, " is how Braungart sums up his concept, on which he collaborated with U.S. architect William McDonough and which calls for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design.
Braungart's idea is a "wake-up call" to mankind, said German Culture Center Director Jurgen Gerbig.
The design advocates two types of products that can be conducted safely, either as "products for consumption," into biological systems or as "products for service, " into technical systems for future product generations.
Products can be used, recycled, and used again without losing any material quality in the "cradle to cradle cycle, " he said. It's called "cradle to cradle" because the whole process is different from the traditional product cycle of "cradle to grave."
"The design is not all about the environment. It's first about human rights, " said the former environmental protection activist, who added that "it's not about overpopulation or the ethical problem unlike what former U.S. Vice President Al Gore has said."
What the world has been doing is reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advocating recycling, but this is like "asking you to beat your children less often, " according to Braungart.
There are more than 600 products with zero pollution on the market using the design process, Braungart said. An international congress and exhibition will be held in Frankfurt, Germany Nov. 12-14, 2008, showcasing 2,000-3,000 "cradle to cradle" products.