The Cradle to Cradle Certified® Product Standard is a globally recognized eco-label standard, administered by the independent, non-profit organization Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. It is based on the Cradle to Cradle design concept which helps designers and manufacturers create products suited for the circular economy, meaning they are made of safe ingredients that can be perpetually cycled, powered by renewable energy.
The Cradle to Cradle Certified® Product Standard evaluates a product against five different categories: Material Health, Product Circularity, Clean Air & Climate Protection, Water & Soil Stewardship and Social Fairness. For each category, the product attains an achievement level: Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. The lowest achievement level represents the product’s overall mark. For more information, refer to the institute’s overview of the different categories and levels.
A product does not have to be perfect to become certified. Instead, Cradle to Cradle Certified® incentivizes continual improvement towards a 100% good product. A product must be recertified every second year, and the company in question must demonstrate true efforts to improve the product.
Today more than 10,000 products are already Cradle to Cradle certified. All certified products are listed in the Cradle to Cradle products registry.
To gain Cradle to Cradle certification, the manufacturer must collaborate with an assessment body accredited by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. Based on collected product and production data, the assessment body issues an Assessment Summary Report. In order to ensure independent validation, third-party verification is performed by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, which reviews the Assessment Summary Report and if satisfied, issues the certificate.
For more specific information about the standard, visit the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute resource page.
Revision of the Standard
The Cradle to Cradle Certified® Product Standard is regularly revised by an independent Standards Steering Committee. A new Version 4.0 was launched on 16 March 2021 and entered into force on 1 July 2021. Learn more here.
The Standards Steering Committee is composed of leaders from industry, relevant experts, and other stakeholders. The CEO of Vugge til Vugge ApS, Annette Hastrup, has been a member of the committee from February 2016 to December 2022.