Eric Brody of outdoor-apparel company Nau answers questions

Eric Brody.

What work do you do?

I am the sustainability manager at Nau Inc.

My other involvements include founder and coordinator of Portland Green Drinks; executive committee member for the Sustainable Packaging Coalition; and advisory committee member for the Oregon Natural Step Network.

How does your work relate to the environment?

Nau, Inc. is a retail (as well as direct) technical and lifestyle outdoor clothing company committed to integrating economic, environmental, and social factors into our business model. We aim to spark a dialogue among individuals and companies who are committed to doing well by doing good. We have aspired to design the entire enterprise from the ground up with the idea and ideal of sustainability at the center of the venture. That includes how we design and manufacture our products, the design and construction of our stores, how our products are shipped, and the people we hire. We give 5 percent of every sale to social and environmental organizations. Customers are encouraged to help decide which organization will receive that 5 percent.

What are you working on at the moment?

Stay warm, look cool.

Photo: Nau, Inc.

I'm working on wearing many hats without messing up my hair. Seriously, one of the exciting aspects of sustainability, especially in a start-up, is the wide range of projects. They include integrating sustainability attributes into our materials, products, processes, and stores; developing labor and environmental standards for the factories that make our products; and tracking, reducing, and offsetting our greenhouse-gas emissions.

We're working with Verité, an independent auditing and research organization that performs third-party audits, to ensure that our requirements relating to human rights, environmental practices, and issues of transparency and reporting are met at the factories. We're also working with Green Building Services on LEED certification for our first store in Boulder, Colo.

How do you get to work?

Drive, bus, or bike. My goal is to bike to work more consistently, but sometimes it's difficult to get motivated to get on a bike when it's cold, rainy, and gloomy out.

What long and winding road led you to your current position?

I grew up in a logging town that exemplified the economic and environmental impacts of mismanaging the environment. That led me to an interest in the role businesses could play in addressing environmental issues. I received a degree in environmental science supplemented with economics courses at Willamette University. Following college, I worked for a consulting company and volunteered for several environmental nonprofits. After being denied for many sustainability jobs and networking with enough people to fill a banquet hall, I landed a job as sustainability manager at Nike -- a fantastic job for me! I learned a great deal in that challenging and rewarding job. Nau recruited me in 2005, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to work for such an amazing start-up company.

Where do you live now?

Portland, Ore.

What has been the worst moment in your professional life to date?

After college I worked at a big firm that consulted on environmental planning and engineering. The firm's management and their clients fulfilled only the minimum that regulations required. In order to initiate change, I arranged a meeting between management and several business leaders who integrated sustainability into their businesses. After the meeting, which I thought was a success, the president of the consulting company insisted that he still didn't see any reason to do more than the regulations required.

I lost that battle, but I continued my pursuit and was finally given approval to start a few green teams. Although top management didn't proactively spearhead changes from the top down, we made some meaningful progress from the bottom up.

What's been the best?

Being recruited to work with a team of industry leaders at Nau to build a brand from the bottom up. Rather than trying to fix existing systems, we have had the opportunity to integrate sustainability at the front end of everything we do. That leads to a different kind of thinking, which makes every day both exciting and challenging.

What environmental offense has infuriated you the most?

Photo: Nau, Inc.

The property-rights ballot initiatives that swept across states in the U.S. recently. The campaigns deceived many voters into thinking that they were voting for fairness for property owners, but in reality, the initiatives allow big timber companies to turn coastal forests into sprawling subdivisions and allow corporations to turn farmland into gravel pits and strip malls. The ballot measure that passed in Oregon, Measure 37, now threatens our treasured quality of life, as well as our farms and forestland. Many residents in rural communities face threats to drinking water and the availability of scarce water resources because of Measure 37. Visit 1,000 Friends of Oregon or the Sightline Institute to learn more.

The other issue that gets under my skin is the timber industry's claim that Sustainable Forestry Initiative certification ensures sustainable forestry. SFI does not protect forests. SFI condones environmentally harmful practices, including large-scale clear-cutting and chemical use, logging of old-growth and endangered forests, and replacement of forests by ecologically degraded tree plantations.

To purchase environmentally sound wood and paper products, I recommend sourcing from forests certified by the independent Forest Stewardship Council. The products come from forests that meet stricter environmental and social standards than other certification systems. Check out Don't Buy SFI for details regarding the problems with SFI and why FSC is a much better alternative.

Who is your environmental hero?

My heroes from the past include Henry David Thoreau, Teddy Roosevelt, and Tom McCall, the former Oregon governor who led the land-use planning initiatives to protect our watersheds, beaches, forests, and farms and create vibrant cities. Current heroes include David Suzuki and Malcolm Gladwell.

What's your environmental vice?

I enjoy snowboarding, even though I'm aware of all the environmental issues associated with that sport. Every time I fall, I figure that's the mountain's way of getting back at me. Or maybe I'm just a bad snowboarder.

How do you spend your free time (if you have any)? Read any good books lately?

For fun I do a little bit of a lot of things, which is typical of Portlanders. Snowboarding, snowshoeing, hiking, cooking, dinner out with friends, and fixing up my house are a few of the activities lately.

Recently my leisure reading has included books by Craig Lesley: River Song and The Sky Fisherman.

What's your favorite meal?

Sushi -- fish listed in the green section of the Seafood Watch guide.

Which stereotype about environmentalists most fits you?

I hug a tree twice a day -- just kidding.

My friends would probably say that I'm a little too eager to recommend ways that people can reduce their impact on the planet.

What's your favorite place or ecosystem?

The Columbia Gorge -- it's hard to beat the amazing views, waterfalls, and cliffs that you'll find on a hike through the gorge. If you ask me on another day, I might say the Oregon coast, Oregon's high desert, or the Cascade Mountains.

If you could institute by fiat one environmental reform, what would it be?

Urban growth boundaries that foster vibrant cities, neighborhoods, and rural towns and protect farms, forests, rivers, and other ecosystems.

Who was your favorite musical artist when you were 18? How about now?

At 18: Morphine. Now: Jack Johnson.

If you could have every InterActivist reader do one thing, what would it be?

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, donate or get involved with 1,000 Friends, Sightline, or OregonWild. If you live elsewhere in the U.S. or abroad, consider helping NRDC, Conservation International, or another organization in your region.

The Brody Hunch

To what extent are your products produced in the U.S.? How do you intend to inventory environmental cradle-to-grave impacts from manufacturing where no regulations exist? -- Jeanne Cahill, Northburrow, Mass.

Eric Brody, Nau Inc.

Our sourcing team has worked diligently to develop business relationships with U.S. and overseas sources that meet our environmental, social, delivery, quality, and price requirements. We are currently sourcing fabrics from two mills in the U.S. We are developing domestic factory sources for some of our less technical products like denim and T-shirts. The factories with the expertise to do technical products have long been in Asia; the price point for technical products developed in the U.S. would be many times greater than customers are willing to pay.

To ensure that requirements are being met, our factory partners must maintain on file all documentation necessary to demonstrate compliance with our code of conduct and required laws, agree to make documents available to Nau or its designated monitor, and agree to submit to inspections with or without prior notice.

In addition, Nau has partnered with Verité, an independent, nonprofit auditing and research organization, to help ensure the requirements are met. The mission of Verité is to ensure that people worldwide work under safe, fair, and legal working conditions. If Verité auditors identify human-rights, environmental, or health and safety violations in the workplace, we will together develop concrete steps to correct them through a combination of trainings for management and workers, education programs, and remediation programs.

What are Nau's rules regarding livable compensation? -- Christopher Juniper, Indian Hills, Colo.

We have a code of conduct in place with which all of our factory partners must comply. This code of conduct focuses on three key areas: human rights, environmental practices, and issues of transparency and reporting. In developing our code of conduct, we did extensive benchmarking of industry best practices and worked to ensure that our code continued to push forward important issues such as compensation and overtime. Regarding employees based in the U.S., we established rules that they are to be compensated an amount that is not less than 1.5 times the U.S. federal minimum wage, and no officer of Nau shall receive a salary in excess of 12 times the compensation paid to the lowest paid full-time employee.

Using sustainable materials has priced the entire line of apparel companies like Nau, Patagonia, and Ibex in a luxury price tier. Can the U.S. really count on a meaningful shift in pollution or raw-material consumption if we are relying on consumer-driven environmental reform? -- Eric Aldinger, Portland, Ore.

You are correct that Nau can't change the world on its own. We are doing everything we can do in our realm to challenge others to think differently, but it will take more than just a few companies to create marketplace shifts. It will take a much larger cultural-values shift in our society, characterized by an intensified search for balance, harmony, meaning, ethics, and authenticity -- as well as a belief that it is increasingly important for businesses and corporations to have additional responsibilities beyond increasing shareholder value.

A handful of great companies are trying to do the right thing, but the truth is the vast majority of companies are doing business as usual, creating advertising campaigns that "greenwash" consumers, and lobbying governments to reduce regulations. Without proper environmental and labor regulations, many countries and industries will continue to race to the bottom. Producing more for less money without concern or knowledge about the impacts to people or the planet continues to be the trend. Many people don't realize the scale of the impacts the decisions they make at work have on the planet or communities.

The brands you identified have begun to integrate the true costs of creating products that meet quality, performance, durability, and environmental factors. At Nau we are building durable products with classic styles intended to have a long life. The idea is that you won't have to replace them as often, which is better for the environment and saves you money over the long run. In order to promote sustainability, we have made the commitment to share the materials we develop with other apparel companies. Our hope is that as these materials become more widely used in the industry, the price will come down.

Use the power of the dollar by spending your money only on food, products, and services that reflect your values. In addition, you would be amazed at the power customer questions and feedback have at a company. Contact companies and tell them your concerns.

What's the biggest avoidable irksome thing you see people do that is harmful to the environment? -- Josie Norris, Portland, Ore.

It's annoying when people don't participate in the political process. If that applies to someone you know, be sure to encourage them to sign up for the email action alerts from your state chapter and national chapter of the League of Conservation Voters. Their mission is to advocate for sound environmental policies and to elect pro-environmental candidates who will adopt and implement such policies.

I often get my outdoor gear secondhand. Even then I have a hard time with the chemicals they are made of. What is Nau doing to make their apparel more environmentally sound? -- Joey Gates, Ithaca, N.Y.

We have taken a life-cycle approach to product development that considers environmental and social factors throughout the entire life of the product. We examine issues relating to product design, materials, production, logistics, customer use, and end-of-product life, taking concrete steps to minimize negative impacts at each point in the product life cycle.

Nau has a Restricted Substance List and protocol to ensure that our products are safe for our workers at the factories, safe for our customers to wear, and that Nau meets the strictest legislation globally. The substances included on the list are either restricted by legislation or voluntarily selected for elimination by Nau. Nau requires our suppliers to comply with our RSL and our products are tested to be sure they do not contain any of the compounds on the list.

There is a wonderful two-part article published on TreeHugger that goes into much more detail on all of our practices at Nau.

I advocate that companies put a legally enforceable commitment to sustainability and a triple bottom line in their articles of incorporation or bylaws. I have read that Nau has language to this effect in its bylaws. What is the language? Has this language helped or hindered Nau in raising capital? -- Stephen Filler, Tarrytown, N.Y.

Even before Nau had raised any money to fund its efforts or had designed a single product, the team began to examine how to set the company on a deliberate social and environmental trajectory.

Corporate attorney Robert Hinkley influenced Nau's founders. Hinkley incorporated the work of management expert W. Edwards Deming and systems theorist Peter Senge to develop new ideas pertaining to the notion of a corporation as citizen. Deming had written that "most of the time it's the system that causes the problem, not the people in the system." He combined this idea with the insight of Senge, who said that to change any system you should "look to make the smallest change possible that will generate the biggest effect." From these theories, Hinkley created a code for corporate citizenship. In only 28 words, it stated that henceforth the "duty of directors shall be to make money for shareholders but not at the expense of the environment, human rights, public health and safety, dignity of employees, and the welfare of the community in which a company operates." Nau chose to follow Hinkley's guidance and include similar language in its corporate bylaws.

This issue has come up in the process of raising capital to fund the company. In fact, people have advanced the point of view that the language suggested a greater degree of responsibility and therefore could lead to the company being devalued. We have taken the opposite point of view and have been able to resolve any objections that we have received to date.

If you would like to see the exact language of Nau's Rules of Corporate Responsibility, please see the March/April '07 issue of GOOD magazine. Subscribe to GOOD magazine for a year and they will give 100 percent of your subscription fee to the nonprofit organization of your choice.

What future role does Nau see for the use of hemp fiber for product manufacturing? -- John Barry, Tucson, Ariz.

There are many exciting developments in the fabric world, hemp being one of them. Hemp is not a material we are currently using in our product line, although we are actively following the developments to determine if there is something we can use in the future that meets our performance, quality, and sustainability requirements.

While hemp has some great environmental attributes compared to other crops, it is important to recognize that there are a range of environmental impacts associated with any large-scale agriculture. These impacts include land clearing, land degradation, and the use of biocides, pesticides, and fertilizers. Also, some hemp suppliers use environmentally clean processes, but many are using chemicals and processes that we want to avoid.

No material is perfect from an environmental perspective, but sustainability is about making strides in the right direction.

Looking back at your childhood, was there a memory or activity that made you want to go into the environmental field? -- David Vanderbrook, Canadaigua, N.Y.

Growing up, my best friend's dad would take several of us on a weeklong fishing trip in the Northern California redwoods every year. The type of awe-inspiring nature you find in the redwood forest is enough to turn almost anyone into an advocate for the environment.

How do you define "environmentalist"? -- Josie Norris, Portland, Ore.

If you are reading this, you are an environmentalist.

Are there any good resources for small companies that advise on how to be green? -- Kirsten Oleson, Pacific Grove, Calif.

Here are books that address both how and why to be green: