The First Facility Management Blog

McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), a third party consultancy founded by architect William McDonough and chemist Dr. Michael Braungart, is the entity that certifies products Cradle to Cradle™. The Zeftron nylon product has received Silver certification from MBDC.
 
Zeftron nylon, a premium branded nylon 6 yarn system manufactured by Shaw Industries for external commercial carpet manufacturing customers, is a yarn system that is 100% closed-loop recyclable at the end of its useful life. All Zeftron nylon yarns come standard with a minimum 25% recycled content in every color.
 
“We are proud to announce that Zeftron nylon has achieved MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle™ Silver Certification, making it a commercial interiors product that demonstrates sustainability and continuous improvement,” said Jay Bolus, vice president of technical operations for MBDC. “This certification lends further credibility to Zeftron nylon’s environmentally intelligent design.”
 
MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle™ certification process closely examines the use of environmentally safe and healthy materials, design for recycling, water and energy efficiency, and social responsibility strategies.
 
“We have always worked to make a product that leaves little or no environmental footprint,” said Tim Blount, business leader for Zeftron nylon. “Every decision regarding manufacturing, product attributes and complete life cycle responsibility work towards this goal, from manufacturing only nylon 6 products to our simple to use commercial carpet recycling program, 6ix Again. We will continue to bring innovation to the marketplace as an industry leader in closed-loop manufacturing and recycling.”
 
Products carrying the Cradle to Cradle™ certification are included within U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System and can contribute to earning points for Innovation in Design.

Technical Concepts will sponsor a workshop on eco-effective principles that can benefit industry on Tuesday, September 18, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL. Ken Alston, CEO of MBDC and former director of sustainable product innovation at SC Johnson & Son, will lead the workshop.

Participants on September 18 will learn the principles of Cradle to Cradle and how products can be certified and optimized through MBDC’s process. Key speakers include William McDonough, architect and author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.

For more on McDonough and his connection to TFM and the facility management profession, see this link.

Jerry McDermott, Technical Concepts vice president of marketing and innovation says, “Cradle to Cradle provides product differentiation, an increased competitive advantage, and a clear way to understand the environmental profile of a product.”

According to architect William McDonough, who developed the Cradle to Cradle principles with partner Michael Braungart, “If humans are truly going to prosper, we will have to learn to imitate nature’s highly effective cradle to cradle system of development.” McDonough believes industry is currently pursuing a cradle to grave production cycle, dumping products into landfills at the end of their ‘life’. Cradle-to-cradle design seeks to transform industry by creating products that maintain resources in closed loops, maximizing material value without damaging the ecosystem.

The Cradle to Cradle workshop is co-produced by a5 Inc., a marketing and communications firm and Seven Generations Ahead, a non-profit focused on sustainability. To register, click this link.