"TEACHER SEEKS PUPIL
Must have an earnest desire to save the world."
-Ishmael
-Ishmael
It seems like a lofty goal: save the world. Yet, every now and then, someone sets out to do just that. I wanted to write about a new company that I'm personally really excited about. They're called Nau (pronounced like "now") and they're based in Portland, OR.
If you haven't heard of them already, you certainly will in the very near future. Their first clothing line is set for release sometime in late January (any day now). For a sneak peak check out this link with images posted from their initial spring offering:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nau_photos/
I'd imagine that by now you're really confused--I start by writing about trying to save the world, and then I tell you about a brand spanking new performance apparel company--so where's the connection?
You're answer: NAU is a company that eats, sleeps, breathes, and basically lives sustainability and social awareness/responsibility. The company is built from the ground up around the ideal of sustainable business development. From the products, to the stores, to the way products are shipped, the bottom line is "minimum impact". It's not just one of many corporate values, thrown together on a sheet of paper with the title "This is how we make money"--"Sustainability" is the title of the page.
Want more? How about 5% of every purchase is donated to a customer specified non-profit organization doing environmental or humanitarian work. So you buy a product, you pick a non-profit (from a list of a dozen or so that Nau partner's with) and they make the donation. You choose what causes your purchases support. You help decide how to save the world.
Not bad huh? But that's enough of an introduction, now let's dig a little deeper into who this company is.
NAU was originally formulated under the acronym UTW for Under The Wire (or as some close to the company supposedly called it "Unfuck The World"). The two in charge of creating the concept were Eric Reynolds, a long time outdoor industry guru and one of the original founders of Marmot, and Chris Van Dyke, who was the brain behind the development of Nike's All Conditions Gear line.
Add to that dynamic duo Ian Yolles (from Nike and Patagonia) Mark Galbraith (lead designer), Jill Zilligen (who ran the One Percent for the Planet non-profit at Patagonia), and a hand full of other folks from Patagonia, Adidas Group, The North Face, and The Limited, and what you have is a group of people who not only know what they're doing, but have a pretty strong belief that there's a better way than the current model for achieving success.
Just how much do they believe in what they're doing? Well if it's any indication, the top managers have taken average paycuts of 40-70% to join up with Nau. If that's not putting your money where your sustainable ass is, I don't know what else to tell you.
The long and the short of it is that this company wants no less than to change the landscape of the outdoor industry and beyond, on their way to changing the world.
Out of 40ish fabrics being used in their initial spring offering, only 2 previously existed. The remaining 38 or so fabrics were specifically designed and developed for their use according to their guidelines and restricted substance list. Oh, and it's not about licensing rights or patented technologies. They're more than willing to share their ideas and manufacturing practices with anyone who asks. After all, you can't change the world if you limit the change to your company. In fact, they've reportedly already started idea sharing with several other companies who are interested in what they're doing, and their first product line isn't even out yet.
I haven't even started to talk about the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification that their headquarters and retail locations will have. They're partnering to make their "webfront" retail stores as green as possible based on the demands of the location.
The list goes on, and there has already been a slew of positive chatter about this company, some of which is posted on their website and the rest of which is fairly easy to find with my good friend Google. Check them out and decide for yourself at www.nau.com
I, for one, can't wait to see what kind of impact they can have on the market.
