Nature gives us the best examples of chemistry and physics. Consider the strength of spider silk and the beauty and functionality of your site, or perfect hexagonal structure of the hive and the desirable properties of honey and beeswax. Persists due to the nature of their closed loop biological cycles involving a growth, food chains, and decomposition. Earth has been operating this way for millions of years without depleting its own resources.

It can (and should) the design of our products by following the example of nature. The Cradle to Cradle approach compels us to design products to fit into the cycle of a loop technique biological or closed. Technical nutrients are reclaimed and reused or recycled. Biological nutrients are consumed or compost. In both cases, residues of an application provides food for another within their respective cycles. The mix of technical and biological nutrients so that it can not be easily separated from each other, creating the "hybrid monstrous "as described by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. Bound to each other, nutrients are no longer eligible for recycling or composting and the monster is forced by her grave (landfill).

A trip to the mall or at any store conventional produce mostly monstrous hybrids. Take, for example, your cotton T-shirt half. Sounds simple, but a closer look reveals why ultimately it is usually destined for landfills. The cotton used to make the shirt is a biological nutrient, fertilizer can support the resulting compost plant growth. If cotton is not organic, it is likely that large amounts of pesticides were used, so much so that one can hardly consider conventional cotton real biological material. Fortunately, people are requesting and the farmers are growing organic cotton.

There many advantages to organic cotton shirt over your average cotton T, in particular the absence of pesticides in the environment and reduce human exposure to pesticides and waste. This is a great step forward. But consider what else might be part of this shirt keeps you begin as a biological nutrient pure, even if it is organic. This is where the details of the organic standards and labeling laws go textiles

Even certified organic cotton T-shirt can be partly synthetic. You can, for example, polyester thread sewn in them. Stronger than cotton, polyester sewing is preferred but does not work for composting. (Incidentally, if you can say cotton yarn or polyester with the adoption of a party for him, and if burning is cotton while shrinking as a polyester plastic.) organic textile standards also allow for small amounts (5-10%) of synthetic fibers in the fabric. Del Similarly, textile labeling laws show that small quantities of synthetic products need not be disclosed on labels. So his shirt 100% organic cotton can be a bit of polyester and spandex. Unfortunately, the disposal of the product is not being considered and composting runs without knowing.

Most labels are made of nylon or some other synthetic fabric to withstand washing, so are not candidates for compost well. Tags can be removed, but usually the labels are sewn on will need to rip the seams to eliminate it completely. Even if you're willing to reduce seams open and start thread in order for payment of his shirt, consider the dyes, stickers, and finishes that can also exclude an element of the compost pile. Those used for non-organic tissues may contain heavy metals, azo compounds, or formaldehyde. The large amount of organic nutrients not mixed with our biological nutrients (cotton) T-shirt payment elusive.

During the mid 20th century there was an explosion in the development of synthesis materials. While the convenience is undeniable, so is garbage and the added burden of health. The resulting polymers (eg plastics) are here to the long run because microbes have yet to evolve to eliminate them. For the long term only makes sense to use more of the biological cycles that have been working over millions of years and when not meet our current needs, we create synthetic cycles work the same way. If we reject the monstrous hybrid need less space leaving more tombs to see wonderful examples of nature.

Copyright 2009 Products compostable.

Author Description: Lynn Zanardi Blevins, MD, MPH is the founder of http://compostablegoods.com, a company dedicated to promoting cradle to cradle product design. Dr. Blevins is a medical epidemiologist, an environmentalist, and an enthusiastic home composter.

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