Cradle to Cradle - Sustainable Product Strategy

Have you ever wondered how effective our recycling systems are at reducing consumer waste in the United States?

If you've ever recycled a product (such as a disposable water bottle) you might not know that due to how plastic degrades, virgin plastic material is often added to ensure it keeps it's structure.

This means that while the impact of the new bottle is lessened by recycling, it still needs to create additional waste in order to get it into the consumer's hands. This problem extends to other plastic products as well, and has been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But what if there was a way to eliminate this waste and completely use recycled materials?

The answer: Cradle to Cradle

This week, I conducted research into the world of Cradle to Cradle certification and strategy, and found an interesting story regarding C&A's creation of their cradle to cradle certified t-shirt.

Here are some of the highlights of my findings.

• In order to develop a certified shirt, C&A invested heavily into R&D, having to restructure the t-shirt's components in a way that made them all carbon neutral.
• The process took a tremendous effort with both partners and suppliers to ensure the scalability of the product would be successful. In the end, the shirts cost roughly 5-10% more than traditional t-shirts to produce, and cost roughly $8 for consumers.
• Looking towards the future of fashion, C&A partnered with it's foundation to create the Fashion For Good movement, with a facility intended for innovators and featuring exhibits.
• With a combination of quality materials, recycled components, and broad appeal amongst consumers, C&A's C2C t-shirts have sold well beyond their expectations.

While this t-shirt example is somewhat niche, given the resources and scale accessible by C&A, it is a great indicator of how sustainable product strategy can be so effective. It proves that sustainable products need to be great products that are also sustainable, not just green.

On top of that, the C2C shirt is a good demonstration of how businesses can make the conversion to greener product offerings. The reason for this is because fast-fashion companies like C&A are big contributors to landfill waste, and as more of these products enter the market that footprint will decrease.

This also creates another problem for C&A, as while this shirt is a great example of how fashionable designs can be sustainable, it is just one product in a sea of unsustainable products, which could ultimately lead to greenwashing.

However, fast fashion companies respond to trends, and if consumers can demonstrate that they desire products similar to their C2C shirt, then the company will respond. This is where consumer tastes need to continue towards sustainable products to succeed.

Where will you buy your next t-shirt?