Imagine a wool blanket that’s soft enough to swaddle a newborn in. Now imagine that when it’s old and moth-eaten the same blanket can be disposed of in your compost bin instead of a landfill. Sound far-fetched? Sure. But the amazing thing is that blankets like this already exist. Best of all, this blanket could be a harbinger of things to come.

This baby blanket, developed by innovative eco-designers at McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), is a great example of cradle-to-cradle (C2C) design. In a nutshell, these are products made in a sustainable manner that are fully recyclable at the end of their life, producing zero waste. Most products nowadays, like TVs, are examples of “cradle to grave” design. You use a product and throw it into a landfill at the end of its life. But cradle-to-cradle design mimics nature. A dead tree, for example, provides nutrients for the soil and habitat for insects.

For more information on C2C design, check out the current David Suzuki Foundation newsletter