Franklin Park, Ill. — Sloan Valve Company has become the first plumbing company in the world to receive the Cradle to Cradle Design certification for its products, the company reports. MBDC, the product process and design firm that evaluates companies and their products based on their "eco-effectiveness," certified two Sloan plumbing products for Silver-level status: the UPPERCUT Dual-Flush Flushometer and the Royal model 111 manual Flushometer.

"This certification is the result of 10 months of exhaustive review of our manufacturing processes and materials," says Jim Allen, director of Sloan's Water Efficiency Division. "MBDC's Cradle to Cradle certification process is the most thorough and rigorous third-party product evaluation. This certification goes beyond our products' water-saving attributes; it is a true assessment of the overall, combined impact of Sloan's manufacturing, material selection, recycled/recovered material use, and all processes related to product creation."

The UPPERCUT dual-flush Flushometer becomes the first and only dual-flush product in the world to be Cradle to Cradle Silver certified. This distinction assures specifiers and owners that not only will the Sloan UPPERCUT offer the best in water efficiency, but the valve itself was manufactured and certified to a high environmental standard. All Sloan UPPERCUTs are made with pride in the United States by union labor.

MBDC, a Charlottesville, Va., product process and design firm, was founded in 1995 to promote and shape the implementation of eco-effective design principles. Instead of perpetuating cradle-to-grave products, dumped in landfills after fulfilling their initial intended purpose, MBDC's Cradle to Cradle Design concept recognizes products whose materials are continuously circulated in closed loops. Designing for cradle-to-cradle product life cycles, for instance, plans for sustainability and product re-use, which reduces reliance on virgin material inputs and lessens overall material costs.

Sloan Valve Company, which offsets 100 percent of the energy used in its Franklin Park, Ill., headquarters with renewable energy, is the recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Leadership Award for its Green Power Purchase. Sloan's corporate mission toward sustainability also includes other initiatives, such as installing more energy-efficient lighting, which will significantly reduce its carbon footprint.

Sustainability is also reflected in Sloan's material choices: About 89 percent of a Sloan Flushometer is made from brass casting alloy, 99 percent of which is from recycled sources, and the Flushometer is completely recyclable or reusable in remodel projects.

Sloan Valve Company is a manufacturer of water-efficient plumbing systems and has been in operation since 1906. Headquartered in Franklin Park, Ill., the company