Nau is Closing
My favorite clothing company, Nau,
is closing. Many people focused on Nau's unconventional business
model (direct sales only, storefronts exist to let you try on clothes
and have them shipped to you). Many focus on the environmental
standards they upheld (all organic and recycled fabrics, recycled
packaging) and their focus on charities (donating 5% of income to
charities). To me, those things were the icing on the cake, the
reason I loved Nau was the clothing.
They tried to rethink every element of the clothing to see if it
could be improved. This lead to many small but interesting things.
Belt loops were placed to avoid pressure points while wearing
backpacks or climbing harnesses. Buttons were similarly chosen to
have low bulk under belts and attached to webbing to reduce wear on
the clothing. Seams were curved to provide more useful coverage, hems
were doubled on hiking pants. All the fabrics were designed to
stretch. Everything combined made the clothing incredibly comfortable.
I haven't found any pants as comfortable as the Nau pants that I have.
They aren't just comfortable, they are durable too. I've abused one
pair of pants while caving, and they have held up incredibly well.
The clothes also looked good. Nau let you wear outdoor performance
clothing without making you look like you shop at outdoor shops. I
get frequent compliments on the Nau clothes that I have. The clothes
had no logos, so you were not turned into a walking advertisement by
wearing them.
I am quite sad to see them go. I hope that their ideas will get
picked up by other companies. I know REI has started placing belt
loops in similar places to Nau's designs, I'd like to see this catch
on more. Perhaps Patagonia can make use of the completely recycled
waterproof-breathable fabrics developed for Nau (currently Patagonia's
WPB jackets are not fully recycled). Perhaps their designers can get
jobs at other outdoor companies and help tweak their designs.
I wonder if perhaps their business model is what did them in.
Could they have sold clothing through other retailers instead of
setting up storefronts? There are other environmentally friendly
clothing manufacturers who took the more conventional route and are
doing well. Would it be better for them to compromise a little bit
and continue to do good (through charities and supporting
non-sweatshop factories)? I can't speak for them, but I'd prefer that
they stay around.
Since they are closing, I encourage people to make use of their
closing sale where everything is 50% off. Get some of the best
clothing around while you still can.
Tags: Outdoors