Onyx Stainless Steel Straws

Sometimes we just want a straw and adults should have fun straws, too. We love this set of 10 polished steel straws from Onyx. Available on Food52.

Byta Travel Cup

A double-wall, vacuum-sealed stainless steel bottle made to take with you wherever you go. Comes in a variety of sizes and we’re obsessed with the chrome collection. Shop MyByta.

Swell Water Bottle

A bottle this aesthetically pleasing is a nice accessory to have. Lots of fun prints to choose from and the new sports cap is very convenient —no need to unscrew the lid to sip on your favorite beverage. Shop Swell Bottle.

Beeswax Roots Wrap

A sustainable, natural alternative to plastic wrap for food storage. Use the warmth of your hands to soften the wrap, create a seal, and once cooled, the wrap holds its shape. Shop Roots Wrap on Etsy.

Bamboo Cutlery Kit

Stylish, lightweight, and totally natural, the perfect kit for those on the go. Our partners at Renewal Workshop put these together as a special gift last December for a few team members, but you can find something similar here: Bamboo Cutlery Kits on Etsy.

Dot Menstrual Cup

Save time and money, preserve trees and protect panties, all while empowering a girl in need. For every cup you buy, they also give one to a person who needs it. Shop Dot.

Lush Naked

These Lush inventions are formulated with little to no water, so they don’t need any synthetic preservatives and make it easy to do away with plastic. They have solid shampoo bars, conditioners, soaps, scrubs, massage bars, bath oils and more. Shop Lush Naked.

Aesop Hand Balm

A blend of fragrant botanicals and skin-softening emollients that delivers rich hydration to labor-wearied hands and cuticles. Ditch the plastic for an aluminum tube that can be recycled. Shop Aesop.

Baggu Reusable Bag

The perfect size to keep in your purse. Comes in a wide assortment of patterns, colors, and sizes. Shop Baggu.

Biodegradable Bogobrush

Compostable Bogobrush handles are made from a bio-composite material with flax particles, hemp, cotton, or coffee. You can toss the handle into your backyard compost pile, or into your curbside compost bin, just as with any other organic matter. Shop Biodegradable Bogobrush.

Primecut Hobo Bag

If we’ve learned anything, when it comes to going plastic-free you need to carry a really big purse! We love this handmade bag from Portland, OR. Shop Primecut Hobo Bag on Etsy.

The post Ten Single-Use Plastic Replacements appeared first on Nau: Blog.

Vicki with the infamous punk rock shih-tzu, @indy_bites.

In third grade, Vicki Vasil aced the unit on advertising at the public school she attended on Long Island. With a few friends, she acted out a series of ads, including a tv commercial to sell dishwashing liquid, where she remembers playing Alice from The Brady Bunch wearing rubber gloves while standing cheerily at a kitchen sink. She was the kind of child who loved the emotional draw and bold attention good brands deserved. An even younger Vicki, around two years old, preferred Entenmann’s donuts out of brand loyalty, for example. By three, after studying the cigarette machine in the mall (that was a thing), she was able to personally connect each brand of cigarette to the smokers in her family. Uncle Mike smoked Kents, Uncle Tony smoked Marlboros. “I loved connecting brands to the personalities I knew so well,” she explains.

So, being Nau’s Brand Marketing Director has always been a kind of dream job for Vicki—not only because of her love for connecting people to a product she believes in but because of Nau’s ethos. “I’ve only worked in places where I believed in what they were doing.” But as emotionally connected as she is to the brands she serves, she’s an entrepreneur who isn’t afraid to instigate change. Vicki came to Nau in May of 2017 and is leading a shift for Nau to speak more to the brand’s values rather than being product-driven, rekindling the emboldened and urgent message of Nau’s founders. She leads with what’s right and is never apologetic for helping Nau remain fully committed to sustainability.

What do you miss right now?

A really good thunderstorm. When lightning cracks open the sky and it’s obvious that thunder is the sound of lightning, bc the storm is right over your head and the electricity is palpable. The east coast gets ‘em, the south gets more. I wish I could import them to the Pacific Northwest.

What’s one thing you’d never forget to bring on a trip?

A toothbrush and change of underwear in my carry-on. I’ve taken enough red eyes and had my luggage lost enough times to appreciate feeling fresh in the morning. I always have these emergency essentials at quick reach the second I deboard the plane.

What are the three most beautiful words in the world to you?

“Contains no cilantro.” Seriously. My assessment of this herb usually goes like, “it tastes like someone poured a box of powdered dishwasher soap on my plate of food.” I’m still getting used to this reaction from people, because this genetic predisposition or whatever it is, makes even biting into the slightest remnant of a leaf of the herb traumatic.

What are you currently listening to or reading?

I’m catching up on a decade of the Moth podcast (true stories, as remembered by the storyteller, captured live). No matter the story, the topic, I get hooked in the first thirty seconds and am usually crying by the end—not that they’re all sad– there’s this quote from a Douglas Coupland book that goes, “there are three things we cry for in life: things that are lost, things that are found, and things that are magnificent.” That is the perfect way to describe the Moth stories. I was actually really fortunate to catch a live Moth event here in Portland last month too.

What does being sustainable mean for you?

The way I look at it is that, say you look outside your window at a lone, aged oak tree. Sustainability is about that oak tree being there 50, 60 years from now, sure. But it’s even more about your granddaughter sitting under that same tree with her own child.

Now that you’re inspired by Vicki, it’s your turn to go UTW.

The post Outsiders Interview Series: Nau Brand Marketing Director Vicki Vasil appeared first on Nau: Blog.

Flaxible Short Sleeve Mod Dress in Terracotta

There’s nothing like a simple, modern dress to give you effortless travel style. Our dresses are style sustainable and comfortable —especially in the summer heat —provide versatility for layering and making multiple outfits, and have pockets.

Flaxible Collection

Our Flaxible dresses get an added nod to performance with the addition of polyester to the classic TENCEL® and linen blend. It keeps its beautiful, club-textured drape and cool hand feel, while the added polyester provides a natural wrinkle resistance, improved moisture management, and increased strength and durability.

Flaxible Tank Dress in Vapor

Astir Collection

Our Astir dresses merge timeless lines with a soft, jersey-knit blend of UPF-50 organic cotton and TENCEL® Sun, offering effortless comfort plus permanent, mineral-based UV protection, and pockets, of course.

Astir Stripe Tank Dress in Lagoon

Kanab Collection

Our Kanab dress is the perfect casual dress for warm weather that wears like a well-worn tee, the scoop-necked Kanab Capsleeve Dress blends the comfort and breathability of hemp and organic cotton into a vision of casual sophistication. Shop the Kanab Capsleeve Dress.

Ready to pick dresses for traveling to your next destination? Here are all of our season’s picks for warm-weather traveling.

The post Sustainable Travel-Friendly Summer Dresses appeared first on Nau: Blog.

Join Nau and The Renewal Workshop for this three-part Workshop Series on Sustainability Beyond the Shopping Bag. Learn how to sustainably extend the life of your garments, create a transitional capsule collection, and upcycle your garments into something “new”.

—Must RSVP to Attend—

Workshop 1 – Extending the Life: Care and Repair

Date: Wednesday, July 31st, 2019
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Location: Nau Portland Store
304 NW 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209

Click HERE for Workshop 1 Infographic Handout.

You’re spending the time to make well-considered, sustainable apparel purchases. But how do you ensure long lives for those pieces? How do you implement responsible washing/drying care? In this workshop, we’ll go over basic clothing care that saves water and energy, as well as your wardrobe. You’ll learn how to rejuvenate the waterproofing on your outerwear with the least harm to the environment. We’ll show you quick repairs you can do at home, and let you know when it’s worth warrantying an item, or when that favorite jacket is simply past its practical lifetime. Finally, we’ll go over some legitimate donation and recycling opportunities so you can feel confident your clothing isn’t ending up in the landfill.

Workshop 2 – Creating a Capsule Wardrobe

Date: Wednesday, August 7th, 2019
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Location: Nau Portland Store
304 NW 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209

RSVP HERE

One of the most important contributions of sustainable fashion is the opportunity for you to invest in fewer, better-quality pieces that last longer and transcend trends. The result is a minimalist wardrobe that feels good every time you look into your uncluttered closet. In this workshop, sustainable fashion stylist Jess Carpenter @jesswithless will show you how to assemble your own sustainable capsule collection to transition from Summer into Fall, complete with accessories and footwear. We’ll supply you with a recycled notebook to jot down all the tips and provide you with an in-event special flash sale to kick off your wardrobe with a fresh key style.

Workshop 3 – New Beginnings: Upcycling Project 

Date: Wednesday, August 21st, 2019
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Location: Nau Portland Store
304 NW 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209

RSVP HERE

So you do your best to wear your pieces as long as they will last before recycling them. But what if you took it a step further and upcycled it into something “new” again? In this session, The Renewal Workshop will walk you through an upcycling project that turns an old garment into something new. Don’t have one that’s ready for the upcycle? No problem, we’ve got some for you to work with, and we’ll also supply you with all the materials you’ll need to complete your project.

The post Nau Summer Workshop Series: Sustainability Beyond the Shopping Bag appeared first on Nau: Blog.

Larger brands are often behind the curve regarding innovation because they’re tied to stockholder expectations, to the mainstream customer—who is their main market and are slower to pick up on trends and breakthroughs—and to long-term sourcing and supply chain contracts. So if they are starting to make news as they plan to be “PFC-free by 2023” or “only using recycled materials in one collection of their line” this is no small feat!

Make no mistake, this is progress. But what gets us is the greenwashing. The marketing lines. The high-level claims. What do all those cute little icons underneath that “organic” sweatshirt on your favorite website really mean? What is “fair trade” when it comes to clothes? Are we saving water or are we using it to farm organic cotton? Are we saving the planet? Saving ourselves? Or just saving some guilt?

When we were founded, we may have been ahead of our time. And we’re still small. But we’re okay with that because we are still pushing innovation in the space, and it allows us to never have to make a hard choice. And it’s made us really savvy. But if you’re confused by all the hype out there, all the info, and separating out the brands truly working with this ethos in mind, give us a shout. We can help you cut through the noise. For now, though, here are some myths debunked about sustainable fashion:

Sustainability Is A Work in Progress

Something might be made from 100% recycled fabrics. It might be 100% recyclable. Ethically sourced and fabricated. But be leary of all-encompassing, high-level claims. There is no end to sustainability, only innovation. We can always be better. And truly sustainably-minded brands share, rather than hoard, their innovations. After all, if we care about reducing the industry’s greater impact, we hope all brands follow suit.

What About All Those Certifications?

The Organic Cotton Standard (OCS). The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). Isn’t Fair Trade about coffee farmers? While certifications are essential to push progress and regulate, protecting consumers from brands making claims as a marketing story rather than as a driving ethos, they too should be taken with a grain of salt. The demand by consumers for these certifications, even without knowing the details, has pushed brands who have pushed manufacturers to do the same. Be careful to rely on a number of badges on a brand’s website to give you the green light.

Blends Are Important For Garment Strength

While the world is over-dependent on petroleum-based plastics and materials like polyester, re-using them (like recycled plastic bottles, actually), prolongs the emissions that will inevitably enter the atmosphere from its inevitable breakdown. Yes, recycling polyester has its own emissions but they’re far less impactful as manufacturing virgin poly. And in reality, polyester is one of the strongest textile fibers available; one could say it’s pretty high on the sustainability list, in fact. Recycled polyester lends strength when blended with a natural fiber like hemp, extending the life of the garment far beyond its life as a 100% natural fiber and has the ability to be recycled time and time again.

Timelessness, Not Trend = Sustainability

Sustainable, ethical fashion is about so much more than where it comes from and how it’s made. A major part of sustainable fashion is its lifetime. Timeless, well-made styles that go the distance don’t end up in the landfill. A brand making a claim to provide sustainable apparel must invest in providing quality garments that aren’t “out” at the end of the season. While this means it’s hard to find low-cost sustainable apparel goods, many brands are working hard to afford this, and as sustainability becomes more of a standard in the industry, prices will eventually go down, too. Whether a jacket is responsibly made or not, if you buy one every year for five years the impact is far greater than had you invested in one better-made, responsibly-made jacket.

Made In The USA Is Great, But So Is Made Elsewhere

Make no mistake, the US offers manufacturing options when it comes to certain things. But when it comes to products, like performance fabrics and technical outerwear, factories that lead innovation do happen to be in Asia, where it has been a focus of the industry for decades. The quality is better than if the same product was attempted to be manufactured domestically. These factories also are amongst the most advanced when it comes to pinnacle partners offering certifications of ethical labor standards, as brands from all over the world demanded it is such. Our domestic market could never maintain the sheer volume of manufacturing, the wages US manufacturing offers don’t incentivize industry growth, and the much higher cost to produce here is inevitably going to hit your wallet. Don’t put a jacket back on the rack just because it’s made from China. Instead, ask if that brand works with certified factories in China who provide fair wages and opportunity for their employees.

What Level Of Responsibility Is The Brand Taking?

Grabbing the most affordable bolt of recycled fabric is lazy. Materials managers and developers for sustainable clothing companies want to be sure the non-recyclable parts of the source of recycled material are also being reused as much as possible. For example, we work with Re: Down, who not only sorts and washes down, provisioning it for reuse but recycles

What Responsibility Are You Taking?

And you can’t rest there. You can’t just surf in your recycled plastic bottle boardshorts and high five that you’re saving the world. As a consumer your part in sustainability is as crucial as the manufacturer’s.

Sustainability doesn’t stop at the shopping bag. Educate yourself by reading care labels and by asking brands for info. Wash your garments in cold; hang them dry. This uses the least energy and reduces the amount of microplastics released into our water sources. Wash your items less often.

So how do you know if a company is greenwashing or walking the walk? As you can tell, there are no cut and dried, hard and fast boxes to tick. Responsible fashion has many angles, many which conflict with each other. For example, vegan product may use virgin plastics. Garment dying saves water but can’t support certain fabrics or recycled fills. Don’t be afraid to ask the employees at the store about their manufacturing practices. If you continue to ask, brands will continue to listen, and the industry will continue to do better. We have seen it with our own eyes. 

The post Sustainable Clothing is About More Than Recycled Plastic Bottles appeared first on Nau: Blog.

Rethinking the Refugee Crisis

In the time it takes to read this sentence, two more people were forcibly displaced from home. Only by confronting the drivers of conflict —poor governance, climate change, inequality —can we truly turn the tide and help refugees.

In South Sudan, Syria and beyond, the conflict has forced tens of millions of people to flee their homes in search of peace. Mercy Corps is working tirelessly to meet refugees’ urgent needs—but this widespread emergency is only the symptom of a larger problem.

Climate change is driving conflict in Nigeria—forcing tens of thousands to flee. Our partner, Mercy Corps is helping farmers and pastoralists work together to build peace and protect resources.

To solve the refugee crisis, we must focus on the conflicts that force people to flee. The rumble of violence starts long before a person faces the impossible choice of whether to stay or go: Governments fail. Inequality spreads. Weather grows erratic.

Many young Syrian refugees have only known war. Our partner, Mercy Corps is connecting youth with opportunities to stop the cycle of violence—and empower a generation that stands for peace.

This is where Mercy Corps is working to design new solutions. As we remember the millions of refugees who have risked it all to find safety, we ask you to join them to help build a world where no one else has to.

• Before neighbors become rivals, let’s protect the resources they depend on.
• Before a generation is lost to conflict, let’s connect them to opportunity.
• Before violence erupts, let’s build a community of peacemakers.
• Before refugees have a reason to flee, let’s build a world where no one has to.

Election violence has displaced over half a million people in Kenya. Our partner, Mercy Corps is helping young Kenyans start youth parliaments—giving them a voice to build peace.

Click here to learn more about Mercy Corps and how you can help.

All photos courtesy of Mercy Corps.

The post World Refugee Day 2019 | Mercy Corps appeared first on Nau: Blog.

Sea Level Bakery + Coffee

Sea Level Bakery + Coffee was our first stop early in the morning, it’s a cute and cozy cafe located at the far south end of town. Besides the obvious need to get caffeinated, their freshly baked goods with vegan and gluten-free options were one of the main reasons we stopped here.

Turns out this was quite the hot spot and we’re not surprised —the coffee, tea, and pastries were absolutely delicious.

Sea Level Bakery + Coffee.

Art Galleries

Named one of the 100 best art towns in America, Cannon Beach has 11 art galleries all within walking distance in its picture-perfect village.

We didn’t have the time to visit them all but we did stop by these top 3 rated galleries on Yelp:

• DragonFire Gallery —Pacific Northwest painting, ceramics and metal art.

• Bronze Coast Gallery —Contemporary artwork and classic bronze sculptures.

• Northwest By Northwest Gallery —Fine art by Pacific Northwest artists.

Haystack Rock

Haystack Rock is one of Oregon’s most recognizable landmarks —this is also the spot where the truck rally sequence in The Goonies was filmed. It rises 235 feet from the edge of the shoreline and at low tide, you can walk right up to it. Sadly, we were not there during low tide, but we did enjoy the beautiful view and long walk along the beach.

Sweet Basil’s Cafe

Sweet Basil’s Cafe is a funky little cafe that satisfied all our food allergies with a menu full of healthy vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. The lunch menu is scaled down with soup, salads, sandwiches, wraps, and paninis. The food was simple, yet tasty.

Sweet Basil’s Cafe.

Bruce’s Candy Kitchen

Open since 1963, Bruce’s Candy Kitchen is an iconic family-owned candy shop —transporting you back to the old days of candy stores in the 1950s and ’60s.

The variety of candy was incredible —however, we were here to sample some of their award winning salt water taffy. We recommend bringing your own container and skipping the plastic bag.

Bruce’s Candy Kitchen.

The Wine Shack

The Wine Shack is an impressive little wine shop with a large selection of Pacific Northwest wines —that also offers tastings and wine by the glass.

A tasting of the Puffin wines seemed like the perfect ending to a wonderful day. We enjoyed the wine so much, that we also purchased a couple bottles to bring home.

The Wine Shack.

Don’t forget to stop by the Visitor Center.

The post Exploring Cannon Beach, Oregon appeared first on Nau: Blog.

Fast Fashion Is Quickly Dying

Fast fashion was born in the 1800s as a side effect of the Industrial Revolution, but the real progression of seasonal trends didn’t start strutting the catwalk until the 1960s. Unfortunately, these new and exciting threads came at a very real cost to humanity.

Now, with hotter and longer summers, the lines between seasons have been blurred—making purchasing heavy winter gear much less appealing. With studies showing a profit loss of $572M more in the winter season of 2015 vs. 2014, fast-fashion conglomerates have been getting pretty concerned about their future.

To make a change, we all need to take sustainable fashion seriously. Here’s a shopping list of 22 sustainable clothing companies that made the cut on Highsnobiety magazine.

Green Is The New Black

The fashion industry is made up of all of the world’s largest polluters; electricity and heat for production, storage, and sales; agriculture for leather and wool; carbon emissions from transportation; petroleum is used to make polyester.

As we consume more and more information like this, it becomes abundantly clear that fast fashion is a major driving force towards the destruction of our planet and the people who live on it. “Slow fashion” is a movement currently gaining traction in its fight to opt for quality over quantity.

You can get involved by shopping with sustainable companies, advocating for basic human rights, and standing up for our planet.

Looking Trashy Will Be “In”

With unpredictable weather patterns, textiles like cotton are harder to grow en masse and manmade fibers are just accelerating the problem. As a solution, eco-friendly companies have been using everything from recycled plastic water bottles to rubber tires to make their fabrics. Check out Nau’s line of sustainable fabrics to see what you’re really wearing.

Your Clothing Could Be Grown In A Lab

The jeans industry rakes in an annual profit of $8.5 billion while also polluting waterways that factory workers use as drinking, cooking and bathing water.

Artist and researcher, Ali Schneider, is exploring the uses of bioengineering to ‘grow’ clothing. In addition to growing fabric in a lab, Ali’s newest project, Vivorium, aims to use bacteria to produce indigo blue jean dye color. She told interviewers at Refinery29 “Imagining what biotechnology could mean for indigo—what it could mean for the future of denim—pushed me to think about how we could reshape fashion production in a really inventive way.”

Fashion Will Follow Function

It’s the age-old conundrum; does function follow form or does form follow function? Well, we predict that fashion will have to evolve into a function-first industry.

With seasons quickly merging, your wardrobe will need to be able to weather the storm and deal with hot days too. Transitional wear is bridging the gap between seasons–while also crafting the phrase “so last season” into a compliment.

The post 5 Ways Climate Change is Affecting Your Wardrobe appeared first on Nau: Blog.

The Capsule Collection tastefully fuses the expressive and artistic Seoul street fashion genre with Nau’s versatile, urban performance styling.

It features a variety of linen styles that suit Korea’s hot, humid summers while retaining anywhere—urban appeal, and outerwear that pays homage to Seoul’s use of experimental fabrics with a new coated linen.

The result is East meets West collaboration that is a nod to the future of international, sustainable fashion.

Shop the Capsule Collection.

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