Simple Clothes for a Complicated Time

Clothing shoppers are rethinking things these days: Can I be fashionable without being frivolous? Is it possible to buy chic clothing that's also eco-friendly? Do my consumer choices make a difference? Among the retailers answering yes to these questions is an online store billed as "Patagonia-meets-Prada."

Clothing shoppers are rethinking things these days: Can I be fashionable without being frivolous? Is it possible to buy chic clothing that’s also eco-friendly? Do my consumer choices make a difference? Among the retailers answering yes to these questions is an online store billed as "Patagonia-meets-Prada."

The store, Nau, is based in Portland, Oregon-based and was started by ex-executives of Nike, Adidas, Marmot Mountain, and Patagonia Inc. It sells quality, tailored garments made from materials such as recycled polyester, organic cotton, cornstarch and merino wool.

“Nau is an outdoor apparel company born out of a desire to do business differently,” said Ian Yolles, Nau's former head of marketing. "At the core of our enterprise is the desire to expand the nature of the outdoor experience beyond athletic endeavors, and redefine what it means to align oneself with the outdoors.”

Nau’s tailored designs omit external logos or branding. It maintains a restricted list of materials that it does not use in its products, preferring to use more than 30 custom designed fabrics including certified organic cotton, Tencel, a fabric made from wood pulp, lambswool, merino wool, and only recycled polyester.

The clothing offers, according to Yolles, “a stylish blend of timeless form and technical function, favoring clean lines over clutter and durability over disposability.”

The challenging economic climate has forced Nau to scale back – it has shuttered its storefront locations -- but not scrimp on its values or quality. The company recently partnered with like-minded clothing retailer Horny Toad to keep its online operation going.

And Nau continues its Partners for Change program, which donates two percent of sales to one of six social and environmental organizations chosen by the customer. In its first year of business, Nau had donated more than $223,000 to its partners. Changemakers’ parent organization Ashoka is proud to be among the Partners.

The Partners For Change program is “synonymous with Nau,” Yolles said. Even when facing financial difficulties in 2008, Nau refused to eliminate this marketing and charitable initiative. The number of Partners was scaled back, along with the percentage of sales donated – from a previous level of five percent.

"It's obviously less than what we were doing before, but 2 percent of sales still represents a leadership point of view in the world of corporate philanthropy," Yolles said. "We feel this model, were it widely adopted, could have staggering potential to influence the common good.”

Even in hard times, the company’s commitment to giving endures.

“Without it, Nau would no longer be Nau,” he said. “The program, which was the brainchild of our founder Eric Reynolds, reflected the way we wanted to do business and our belief that businesses have a broader responsibility then simply the singular pursuit of profit at the expense of everything else.”