I really struggled with picking a ‘best’ framework because I felt that each framework had their strengths but neglected other aspects, so none were quiet at full-picture as I would have liked. I think my personal favorite for evaluating was the Total Beauty model because I felt that this was the only model that had outlined individual aspects to score products on, and then how to score them. Although its still very subjective, I felt that the Total Beauty model was the least abstract. I like that it allows you to score products individually, rather than whole companies, as it can allow the companies themselves to look at which products they could improve individually. However, I think that combining Total Beauty with one of the other models that focuses on the sustainability of the entire company, could give consumers a better idea of the full picture, and allow them to pick sustainable products and sustainable companies to support.
When it comes to designing products and services, however, I think I would chose to use either the Biomimicry or the Cradle to Cradle models. I was attracted to both of these models because they emphasize Nature-inspired designing. Biomimicry focuses on learning from nature, which has adapted over thousands of years to be as efficient and sustainable as possible, while Cradle to Cradle focuses on creating a products that can either decompose naturally and easily, or be repurposed and reused, like many things in nature. I think both of these frameworks, because they are more broad, can easily be applied to designing and evaluating theoretical products’ sustainability during the iterative design process.
Overall, I think all of the frameworks could be improved by using aspects of each of them, but I think that the Total Beauty framework is the best for evaluating completed products, and the Biomimicry and Cradle to Cradle models are best used during the design process. Even more importantly, however, I think designers and consumers should just try to remember one of the frameworks and be critical when buying, designing, or supporting any product or company. Much like with the Prius vs. Hummer example, the best way to drive sustainability is by showing companies that consumers care about sustainability, and want to see that reflected in their products.