The Brody Hunch

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On the web, I'd suggest: GreenBiz, Sustainable Industries Journal, Eartheasy Sustainable Living, Sustainable Style Foundation, TreeHugger, and WorldChanging.

For networking, connect with local chapters of Net Impact and Green Drinks.