Given traditional marketing conventions it could be argued that the most radical decision we’ve made at Nau was to eschew putting an external logo on our product. The idea was first put forward by Mark and Peter. They championed it from a product design point of view.

Our rationale (yes, it quickly became our rationale) was threefold:

1) If over time we applied a strong design point of view consistently across the entire product line, people would begin to recognize the product as Nau product.
2) Our audience (not to mention ourselves) were sick and tired of being somebody else’s billboard. The world is littered with logo’s. Besides, clothing is a personal expression of the wearer’s identity, not some detached entity that happened to make the product.
3) We wanted to invite dialogue and conversation. The idea was that if I saw you wearing an interesting piece of clothing and it didn’t carry a logo, chances are it would spark a meaningful conversation.

Our collective feeling is that our approach and philosophy is the right one for Nau. People have asked us if we’ve reconsidered it along the way. The answer is no. Based on feedback we’ve received, our conviction is strong that it was the right path for us to pursue.

So, how about the idea of renting out your eyelids as an advertising space? That’s right, your eyelids. Feelunique is offering you 10 pence per wink in exchange for displaying the company’s logo on your eyelid space. If you sign up you’ll get 10 pence per wink up to a total of 100 per model. I assume it must have been successful because applications are now closed.

 

You’ve likely heard of the Fortune 500, and the Forbes Best 200 Small Companies, and the NASDAQ 100, and the Inc 5000 (yeah really, 5000), and the Global 100. But what about the The Real 100? In the words of it’s creator Duke Stump, the Real 100 is “dedicated to the 100 most regenerative ideas, individuals and brands that are pioneering a new path towards the emerging future. Defined less by size than their ability to spark a revolution of new thought and possibility.”

Duke has also started a blog dedicated to the Real 100. It’s a good read

Among others the Real 100 includes Architecture For Humanity, Buckminster Fuller Institute, Thomas Friedman, Good Magazine and Toms Shoes. We’re honored to say it also includes Nau. Check out the list and let us know who you would add to the Real 100 community.

 
All things begin with good people. That’s definitely the case with Kootenay Mountain Culture, an international-calibre biannual publication dedicated to the celebration, promotion and documentation of mountain culture as it exists throughout British Columbia’s Kootenay region.

Just in case you who don’t know, the Kootenay’s sprawl across an incredible mountainous landscape larger than Switzerland. They’re located in the southeast corner of British Columbia, Canada, bordering the states of Washington, Idaho and Montana and the Canadian province of Alberta. The Kootenay’s encompass portions of four major mountain ranges: the western Rockies, Purcells, Selkirks and eastern Monashees, and within these ranges are hundreds of lakes, rivers, glaciers and 10,000-foot peaks. The region includes four national parks, 75 provincial parks, and countless year-round, winter and summer recreation resorts, backcountry lodges, hot springs and far-out destinations renown for world-class hiking, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, mountain biking and climbing. Not bad. But what about the people?

Mitchell Scott is the Co-Founder, Publisher and Editor of the magazine. He’s an accomplished outdoor athlete, his favorite sport being mountain biking and skiing. Not surprisingly, he’s also an editor at large for Powder and Bike magazines. He lives in the Kootenay’s, Nelson to be more precise, with his wife and two kids.

We’re huge fans of both Mitchell and his magazine. With sections like Gallery (a collection of stunning photos from some of the best outdoor and action sport photographers in the world), Adventura (an edgy, adventure-rife first-hand account of a significant outdoor epic, either within the Kootenays or from Kootenay residents anywhere in the world) and Ecos (focused on environmental issues in the context of mountain living). it reflects Nau’s interest in the intersection between beauty, performance and sustainability.

Waylon Lewis, or W as he prefers to sign his emails with, is an original, passionate and slightly offbeat guy. He’s also the guy behind Elephant. It’s first incarnation was in the form of a printed magazine. Now, given Waylon’s adaptability, its morphed into an online journal. But regardless of its form, Elephant continues as a guide to what they like to call “the mindful life: yoga, organics, sustainability, genuine spirituality, conscious consumerism, fair fashion, the contemplative arts…anything that helps us to live a good life that also happens to be good for others, and our planet.” That definitely sounds good to me.

You can discover lot’s of interesting nuggets at Elephant. For instance, a treasure trove of videos featuring the one and only Waylon in colorful conversation with people like Dr. Andrew Weil, Alice Walker, Treehugger’s Graham Hill, Deepak Chopra and Lester Brown. You can also find posts bearing titles like: Pioneering Natural Cleaning to the Masses: Clorox? Or Method? Or, Yogi Chocolate makes a difference: yoga during unemployment. Or, Chinese / Tibetan New Year: Year of the Ox. Poem & Gifts. You’ll also find content framed by serene banner ads from Patagonia.

And, today (or tomorrow and beyond since there is a persistence of memory in the digital space) you can find a post entitled:Responsible Fashion & the US Economy: Nau’s Scape Jacket and Down Vest. What I like about the review is that its author, Heather Mueller , tackles some of the bigger issues associated with the environmental and social costs tethered to the products and services we consume and the fact that we live in an economic system that externalizes those costs. In that context she goes on to say some pretty complimentary things about our Down Vest and Scape Jacket. We’re also thankful for Abbey Smith’s earlier Elephant post entitled: Nau It’s Time (ecofashion!). Of course, we’re honored to be part of the “mindful life.”

 
Luke Reynolds is a great guy, a very talented musician and a friend of Nau’s. In fact, we considered ourselves to be very fortunate. He played at our relaunch party which took place in Lizard Lounge last November.

Good people deserve good things. So, it’s not surprising that his most recent album, Pictures and Sound, was selected as one of four albums to be included in the Whole Foods Artist Discovery Series. That means you can pick it up in over 220 Whole Foods stores across the country. The picture above is the one Whole Foods is using to promote the album (shameless self promotion – Luke is sporting his Bunny Goat Hoody).

Not only that but Luke has just been nominated for a Grammy Award in the category for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album. He wrote the song “Something Inside” for August Rush. It appears 4 times in the film, most excitingly at the emotional climax, which you can watch in the video clip below.

Very cool and richly deserved.

While trolling around the Outdoor Retailer Show last week I stumbled across a little booth that housed the Swiss based ski company Movement . I’d heard about them before, including some of the accolades they’ve received, like Outside Magazines recent Gear Of The Year Award for backcountry skis. When I stopped to talk to them they reminded me of Nau in the sense that they, like us, have thought about the intersection of beauty, performance and sustainability from a product design perspective. That’s what intrigues me about Movement. I’ll leave the “beauty” ingredient out of this conversation as you may or may not like their graphics, but they definitely seem to be pursuing the intersection of performance and sustainability as it relates to the design and production of skis.

They say their skis are for “passionate connoisseurs.” For Movement, the construction of the ski is paramount and they insist on the highest level of construction using proprietary wood cores. They’ve definitely chosen a non-conventional manufacturing path. Unlike most ski companies, they own their own factory in Tunisia. This gives them total control over the production process. Their “Ecologic System” results in 50% less glues being used to join the different wood core parts or the power rail. They also use white glues based on water without chemical dissolvers. On top of that, the wood they use originates from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) certified forests.

Movement skis may cost more then major brands, but they seem to be committed to quality, durability and internalizing some of the environmental costs that are typically externalized when it comes to the cost of products we buy. I also liked the fact that when they told me the story, they prefaced it by saying their skis are not sustainable. That’s truth in advertising.

According to Richard Seireeni , a Gort Cloud is a tangible green network with a mission and a collective membership comprised of like minded people. Its not a single community or a movement. It defies easy description so it needed its own name. Hence, the Gort Cloud. His inspiration came from Oort Cloud, named after the astronomer John Hendrik Oort , who guessed at its existence. The Oort Cloud is a vast field or stellar debris that orbits the solar system. Given it’s distance from earth we can’t see it but we can detect it electronically and view its effects. It’s mass is huge, greater then the mass of the earth but its invisible to us. He suggests this describes the Gort Cloud, a vast green network made up of untidy bits that is mostly detected through electronic means (think the internet and social media) and that has a huge effect on the evolution of green business.

The Gort Cloud: The Invisible Force Powering Today’s Most Visible Green Brands is the title of Richard’s new book. Richard and his writing partner Scott Fields have chronicled the marketing and brand building efforts of what they consider to be the nations leading ecopreneurs. Together they plot the intersection and emerging potential of two contemporary forces – the green movement and social media. They argue that sustainable companies benefit from a community built on truth, transparency and the free exchange of information.

The book includes compelling stories and insights garnered from some of the iconic green brands including Ben and Jerry’s, Interface, Seventh Generation, Tesla Motors and Stonyfield Farms. It also includes a chapter titled Creating Green Street dedicated to Portland based entities including Ecotrust (one of our Partners For Change organizations), Portfolio 21 Investments and Shorebank Pacific. We had the pleasure of meeting Richard and Scott last year when the book was in the early birthing stages, We’re particularly honored, and humbled, that they’ve chosen to include Nau in Chapter 3 of the book. Its titled Unfuckers United: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Nau Clothing.

Of course, you can pre-order a signed copy of the book via one of Portland’s landmark institutions Powell’s Books . And, if you happen to be in Portland on February 26 please join us to hear Richard speak. The talk will take place at 7.30 pm at Powell’s.

Wow. What a morning. I can hear America singing.

Inspiration comes in many forms. In this instance it presented itself via a recent hour and a half long conversation I had with Blake Mycoskie who is the founder of Toms Shoes. What a guy and what a story. Blake founded Toms following a trip to Argentina where he was inspired by the traditional rope soled “alpargata.” He was struck by the poverty in the country and set out to reinvent the alpargata for the US market, with the intent of accomplishing one goal: making life more comfortable for those without shoes.

The basic idea behind Toms Shoes is that for every pair you purchase, Toms gives a pair of shoes to a child in need. “One for one” as they like to call it. The beauty of the idea is found in its simplicity and the tangible result that stems directly from your purchasing decision. Since it’s beginning in 2006, Toms has given over 10,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina and 50,000 pairs in South Africa. Their 2008 goal was to give away 200,000 pairs of shoes.

Along the way they’ve generated amazing notoriety. In 2007, Toms was honored with the prestigious People’s Design Award from the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Blake and Toms have also been featured in People, Time, GQ, Vogue and O Magazine.

The “one for one” idea has inspired a movement, literally. They have internship programs in their head office and on high school and college campuses. You can also volunteer to participate in one of their shoe drops in Argentina. Then of course, there’s the Toms Vagabond Tour. The result? People are talking about Toms, everywhere.

It seems their story has struck a resonant chord. They’ve been able to imbed meaning in their product and in the cultural constructions that come from conversation and dialogue. Their story is authentic and contributes to changing the larger set of stories by which we live. In doing so, Toms is growing a community of congruence that helps change our dominant cultural stories for the better.

We take our hats off to Blake and his colleagues at Toms.

Change is a word that has been central to the thinking and doing at Nau. That’s why I was surprised that I didn’t know about change.org until a recent email landed in my inbox. Founded in 2005 and launched in 2007, it’s a social entrepreneurship venture attempting to inform and empower movements for social change. Imagine a social network where you can learn about causes, connect with like minded people and nonprofits, and take action.

The email I received was drawing my attention to their “Ideas For Change In America” campaign which is soliciting ideas for how the Obama administration should change America. To date the highest rated idea, with 4198 votes, is “Legalize the Medicinal and Recreational Use of Marijuana.” As my colleague Hal said, “under these circumstances, why not?” Number two, with 2414 votes, is “Appoint Secretary of Peace and Non-Violence.”

President elect Barack Obama said “I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved in your own democracy again.” The top 10 ideas will be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day, followed by a national campaign to advance each idea in Congress. “Submit Your Ideas” on how to change America and vote for your favorites.