DESSO has been designing and manufacturing carpet for almost 80 years.  The company has factories in Europe and its products can be found in residential, commercial and public buildings worldwide. 
     In 2002, German chemist Michael Braungart and American architect William McDonough heralded the philosophy with their book 'Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things'.  Its central premise is that products should be conceived from the very start with intelligent design and the intention that they would eventually be recycled, as either 'technical' or 'biological' nutrients.
     In March 2008, to make good that objective, DESSO entered into a partnership with the Hamburg-based Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency, the brainchild of Cradle to Cradle co-founder Michael Braungart.
     Cradle to Cradle brings a new methodology to the design of processes, products and services, by looking at raw materials both in terms of their intrinsic value and how, at the end of that product's useful life, they can be taken apart and recycled - or "up-cycled" into products that may have a value and sophistication beyond that of their original use.
     The Cradle to Cradle cycle is especially challenging in the carpet industry where millions of square metres of worn-out carpet are thrown away every year. However, by sourcing sustainable raw materials, introducing new manufacturing methods and collecting used carpets from customers DESSO are getting closer to completing that virtuous cycle. The objective is that at the end of DESSO carpets' useful lives, their components will be disassembled and reused without being down-cycled or, worse, simply thrown away.
     DESSO currently has nine Cradle to Cradle certified products and this summer will be introducing Cradle to Cradle carpet backing. DESSO plans to have all its products Cradle to Cradle certified by 2020 meaning, that all products will be capable of being recycled back to a product of equal or greater value, and that all main production processes use only 100 per cent renewable energy.