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Green and eco-concious crazes have swept society, and sometimes it can be hard to keep informed with what actualy means what. Here's a continuation of casaGURU's green guru DeAnna Radaj defining eco-friendly terminology...

LIFE CYCLE
This refers to the notion that a fair, holistic assessment of any product requires looking into its raw material production, manufacturing processes, means of distribution, and the product's use and disposal (including all intervening transportation steps necessary to get this product from where it came from to your home). The sum of all those steps, or phases, is the life cycle of a product, the sum total of everything that happens because of the product's existence.

Here is a soybean example: the planting of soy beans, the subsequent care and harvesting of the soy, the transportation to the factory for processing, and then the final processing procedure to make the soy beans into whatever the chosen product is . . . and then how the product is or can be disposed of -- or recycled and reused in some fashion.

CRADLE-TO-GRAVE
This term refers to the FULL life-cycle assessment of any product, from its manufacture (the cradle) to its use phase and disposal phase (the grave). This philosophy and its focus on manufacturing and its impact on the environment has been a key concern of designer/author William McDonough. Look for his books!

Here's an example: a tree helps to produce paper, which is then recycled into low-energy production cellulose (fiberised paper) insulation, then used as an energy-saving device in the ceiling of a home for 40 years, saving 2000x the fossil-fuel energy used in its production. After the 40 years, the cellulose fibers are replaced and the old fibers are disposed of, possibly incinerated as a part of the waste-to-energy process.

CRADLE-TO-GATE
This is an assessment of a "partial product life cycle from its manufacture (cradle) to the factory gate (BEFORE it's transported to the consumer). The product's use and disposal phase is omitted. CTG assessments are usually the basis for environmental product declarations.

FAIR TRADE
A company or product can be certified as Fair Trade if either incorporates policies and standards that include a fair living wage for all factory employees, ample breaks, no obligation to work overtime without compensation, and a safe work environment with emergency protocols in place. Examples of this include factories in many Third World countries that have gone through rigorous certification steps.

CRADLE-TO-CRADLE
This is a specific assessment where the end-of-life disposal step for a product is a recycling process. From the recycling process originates a new, identical product or perhaps a different product. Examples include glass bottles recycled to make more glass bottles OR old blue jeans recycled into insulation OR plastic milk jugs recycled into carpeting.

DeAnna Radaj, owner of Bante Design LLC and its production division Eden Place Productions, is a designer who specializes in Integrative Lifestyle Design (the fusion of Eastern and Western interior design philosophies incorporating feng shui and healthy home principles).

Emer Schlosser
		About the author:
		Always a fan of words in various glorious forms – novels, dialogue, lyrics, etc – Emer translated her passion into a writing career in 2005. She has since supplied gossip on celebrities to Canadian Press, interviewed individuals from the arts for Inside Entertainment, expressed her fondness for food for Cheese Boutique’s blog, & co-founded, edited and contributed to iheartthemusic.com. At the moment she’s taking the mystery out of Green Living and providing some great tips on Home Renovation, Decorating & Design and Curb Appeal to the members of casaGURU.com. casaGURU, “the homeowner’s home online”, is a free web community that connects homeowners and local house experts.
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