CH O I CES S TY L E
The Future is Nau
A computer rendering of Nau’s
planned “Webfront” stores,
slated to open in 2007.
A progressive apparel company takes sustainability to the next level
BY CARISSA WODEHOUSE
in late 2004, Eric Reynolds, a co-founder
of California-based outdoor gear company
Marmot, started recruiting talent for a
new sustainable clothing company he was
planning to build from the ground up, and
he invited industry veterans who shared
his vision to join him. Excitement spread
quickly, and soon a group of designers and
financial execs—many in lead positions at
outdoor clothing giants like Patagonia and
Nike—were weighing the opportunity to
be pioneers in the green clothing industry
against the risks of taking major pay cuts
and uprooting their families. The first to
take the plunge was Chris Van Dyke, who
had recently retired from Patagonia. “At
70 | Feb/Mar/07 plentymag.com
companies like Nike, retrofitting for sustainability is like changing the wheel
on a moving train,” he says. “This new
company was an opportunity to build
the train, then run it.”
Van Dyke and the other mavericks that
joined him envisioned a company that
would create high-performance, beautiful
clothes while also setting new environmental standards for design, manufacturing,
and distribution. Two years later, their
dream has come to fruition in the form
of Nau (pronounced “now”), named for
the Maori word “welcome.” An apt title,
because hearing about the company’s innovative methods feels like getting a glimpse
into the future of apparel—both how it’s
made and how it’s sold.
To start, Nau designers didn’t just settle
for the standard green fabrics like hemp
and organic cotton. They worked with
clothing manufacturers Malden Mills and
Deer Creek to create earth-friendly textiles,
dyes, and finishes. One of the more innovative textiles Nau uses is a durable, fleecelike material made out of the polylactic
acid (PLA) derived from corn. (Although
many companies have experimented with
using PLA in consumer products, Nau is
among a handful of companies using it to
manufacture clothing.) Once the fabrics
were ready, Mark Galbraith, vice presi-