Not for Nau

May 5, 2008

Following sustainable design, I have been a fan of Nau. It is a great example of how sustainable design can be sexy. Borne of some of the more progressive, corporate minds in outdoor gear, I thought they stood a good chance of fusing a green focus with an innovative business model.

They did have pretty compelling stores, although a bit austere for my taste. Actually they were more like showrooms than stores, and encouraged visitors to receive chosen merchandise via mail rather than taking it with them.

The reasoning was that inventory and fuel costs of maintaining in-store inventory was more expensive than fulfilling from a mail-order model. You got a substantial discount for doing it (10%?) but it was off-putting, too. Clothing is too personal and impulsive of a purchase to receive a week later in a box.

A central theme to Nau’s work was their Partners for Change program where 5% of every sale was donated to a charity on the Nau menu. You could select with reasonable specificity where your 5% would go.

Unfortunately I think this diluted their message of sustainable fabrics, which was really where their innovation trumped the rest of the market. They used organic cottons, recycled polyesters that were super cool looking, and also PLA - a fabric made from corn fibers.

Despite their passing, I’m inspired by their attempts and we’d be fools to not try to learn from Nau. They have exposed an amazing amount of their corporate DNA, and have maybe pointed the way to do things. I think one lesson I draw from Nau is not to rely on huge fundraising stages. Perhaps the way to develop a sustainable business is to not rely on receiving a steroidal $30+ million from over-eager investors, but to grow slow and organically.

Stumble it!

Tags: , apparel, corporate DNA, fashion, Nau, partners for change, PLA, sustainability