Nau is a

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

company, founded in 2007 by

Marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...

founder Eric Reynolds and based in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, United States.

Sustainability

The company's business model includes the use of textiles developed from sustainable technical fibers and fabrics in line with the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). Nau also makes use of ethical Merino and other wools within its products as well as other uniques such as recycled polyester, Tencel, Cocona synthetic down and ethically-sourced goose down All employees of Nau are provided free public transport and

carbon offset A carbon offset is a reduction or removal of emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). One ton of carbon ...

ting tokens purchased for corporate travel and product ''to'' customer deliveries. Nau was named ''Outside'' magazine's Best Companies to Work for in 2010.

Partners for Change program

Nau's core business plan involves a donation of 2% from each sale to selected community partners through their "Partners for Change" program, where the customer chooses one of the organizations after their purchase. As of 2014, these partners were People for BIkes, Ashoka, Breakthrough Institute, Mercy Corp and EcoTrust. Nau donates 100% of those collected to these organizations.

Ownership

Nau opened numerous retail stores across the United States (

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and others), but on May 2, 2008, Nau announced that it was ceasing operations, primarily due to an inability to raise further capital. In 2008 Nau was purchased by Horny Toad, Inc. and reopened for trade in October of that year. In October 2013, Horny Toad sold the Nau brand to Korean-based Black Yak for an undisclosed amount with plans to continue the growth of the business through online, wholesale and eventually its own retail channels.

References

External links

"And Nau for Something Completely Different
" Andrew Tilin, Outside Magazine, Feb. 2007
Nau official website
Companies based in Portland, Oregon Clothing retailers of the United States Clothing companies established in 2007 Privately held companies based in Oregon 2007 establishments in Oregon Eyewear brands of the United States Eyewear companies of the United States {{Oregon-company-stub