What is Cradle to Cradle® and why are you interested?

Respecting the planet is no longer optional for today’s companies. It is essential, both to comply with existing and future legislation and to satisfy consumers, who are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of the brands they buy from.

In this context, various environmental certifications have been created, which it may be interesting to know in order to select service providers and products to support you in your CSR strategy.

Discover today the Cradle to Cradle®, an eco-label to add to your radar if you want to produce or consume eco-responsible products.

What is Cradle to Cradle®?

Cradle to Cradle® (C2C for short) is an international certification for the circular economy and eco-design. Its name comes from the English word for “cradle to cradle”.

This environmental standard is awarded by the C2CPII (C2C Product Innovation Institute), based on 5 product design criteria:

• Its non-toxicity
• Its circularity
• The fact that it uses renewable energy
• Its respect for water
• Its respect for social rules

This eco-label awards 5 levels of certificates: Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The more environmentally, health and socially friendly a product is, the higher the certificate level. This system thus pushes manufacturers to improve more and more in the environmental impact their products can have.

What are the main principles behind this certification?

Cradle to Cradle® certification is based on a simple idea: “Doing good rather than less harm”. The idea is to create products with the idea that they will have a positive impact on the environment and the health of consumers, rather than doing “as little harm as possible”.

More specifically, C2C certification is based on 4 main principles, as follows

• Everything is a resource: there is no such thing as waste
• We must favour renewable energy
• We must celebrate diversity
• It is crucial to have a collaborative and systemic vision

In concrete terms, how are C2C® certified products designed?

In order to have a product certified as Cradle to Cradle®, the manufacturer must include scenarios in the design that allow the product to be regenerated once it has been used – infinitely if possible.

In this sense, Cradle to Cradle® certification goes beyond recycling. It is based on the concept ofupcycling, which consists of creating another product, which is more valuable than the initial one, once the end of the product’s life cycle is reached.

This upcycling can be done in two different ways:

• Via a biological life cycle: the raw materials of the product are decomposed organically to become new products later on. This is the case with biodegradable products, which can become compost at the end of their life.
• Via a technical cycle: used products are returned to the company, then dismantled, to be reassembled into new products later.

Source: Werner & Mertz

Through thisupcycling system, value creation loops are created. These can be closed loops (where the product can be recreated indefinitely), or open loops (where the product is upcycled to create a new product once).

Examples of Cradle to Cradle® certified products at RAJA

At RAJA, we are committed to regularly adding eco-responsible products to our catalogue, aligned with the environmental and ethical values that our customers wish to emphasise in their business.

That’s why our latest catalogue now contains the first Cradle to Cradle® Gold certified detergent range in professional hygiene: Green Care cleaning products. These contain no toxic ingredients, and are packaged in post-consumer recycled plastic.

A C2C® certified cleaning product for every need:

Because in addition to your eco-responsible packaging, your CSR strategy deserves cleaning products that ensure optimal environmental protection!