Source: Sustainable Life Media
Published: Friday, May 09, 2008

Sustainable apparel retailer Nau, which made headlines with its pledge to donate 5% of its earnings to charity, has shuttered its doors after just one year, citing a skittish capital investment market according to Sustainable Life Media.

In a statement published on its website over the weekend, the company states:

"We believe our failure [to raise the necessary funds] is not so much a reflection of the viability of our business, but rather a confluence of unfortunate events. Just as we could not have predicted the sudden groundswell of environmental consciousness that blossomed at the time we launched our business, we did not foresee the current crisis in the capital markets. At this time, investors are loathe to invest in anything; especially, it appears, a company like Nau that has the audacity to challenge conventional paradigms of what a business should be."

Nau was founded in 2005 by a high-powered management team of former executives from Nike, Patagoni, and Adidas.

"We started with a clean whiteboard," Nau CEO Chris Van Dyke told Fast Company last June. "We believed every single operational element in our business was an opportunity to turn traditional business notions inside out, integrating environmental, social, and economic factors."

Nau pioneered an innovative store model that minimized overhead costs (and environmental footprint) by stocking only small amounts of product supplemented by in-store web kiosks to drive online sales. The company, which eventually opened five stores in the U.S., donated $223,000 to charity through its customer-driven giving program, Partners for Change.

Nau's farewell message concludes: "Although our current financial obstacles have proven to be insurmountable, it does not mean that our fundamental goal is unattainable....It remains as urgent as ever for businesses to take the lead in creating a sustainable future for humans and the planet."