Nau is the time for eco wear
While major U.S. companies like Nike struggle to go green, young rivals are establishing eco habits from the get-go.
Portand, Ore.-based Nau, a maker of hip outdoor clothing, this month will introduce its spring line of jackets, pants and tops made of organic cotton, renewable polyesters and low-toxic dyes. This spring, it also plans to open a small retail outlet on Chestnut street in San Francisco, as one of eight new retail stores this year (for a total of 12 around the country).
Mark Galbraith, head of design for Nau and former Patagonia designer, spoke recently in San Francisco about the company’s history and approach.He said Nau started as an idea three years ago from a former Marmott executive who found it ironic that an industry serving people who love the outdoors isn’t environmental itself. Outdoor gear, for example, is often made with toxic components and petroleum-based fabrics. His idea was to change the industry by designing goods–and the business–with sustainability in mind. Not only would Nau try its best to produce durable, eco-friendly clothes made with a low energy footprint, but it would also craft a business that ate its own dog food, e.g. limit corporate travel and house operations in a LEED certified building. The company’s original codename was UTW, or unf*ck the world, Galbraith said.
To meet its mission, Nau designs clothes made of renewable materials, without external logos (so they don’t go out of fashion), and in a color palate appropriate year-around. Some of its jackets, for example, are made of recycled polyester with a water-proofing membrane that’s also polyester so that the shopper can return it at the end of wear to be recycled by Nau, Galbraith said.
Nau opened its first store in Portland last March with a goal of reinventing retail, too. Part of its reinvention is by leasing smaller retail spaces and maintaining most of its goods in a central warehouse, where they can be kept up with fewer resources. The commercial space allows people to try on items in the store, but Nau encourages shoppers to order online in the store by offering them a 5 percent discount. To cut the carbon footprint of shipping, the items are packaged in envelopes, rather than boxes.
“In a traditional store, products typically have a long shipping life–from the factory to the store, from store to store, etc.,” said Galbraith. “This way, the product carries a smaller carbon footprint.” Nau also donates 5 percent of the sale of a good to cause ofthe consumer’s choice.
Still, Nau’s not perfect. It sources some of its manufacturing in China, and it uses some petroleum-based materials. But Galbraith said the company is always working on innovation in the field of materials and manufacturing.
“We’re just a fledgling company and have a lot to prove,” said Galbraith. “It’s really a political statement.”
November 12th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
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