Connect - Nau in Chicago

Chicago area shoppers will soon get a chance to see the new progressive and sustainable line from Nau clothing at Connect, a sustainable retail and event space opening its doors on November 7 in the Wicker Park/Bucktown neighborhood.

Connect will be one of only two retailers in the world to house Nau’s entire 2008 fall/holiday collection. Nau, which unexpectedly closed it doors in May, has re-launched its clothing line and will be bringing its sustainable apparel back to Chicago. Along with Nau, Connect will showcase other collections that also focus on sustainability and social and environmental responsibility.

As well as being a retail store Connect will also be hosting monthly fundraising events in their showroom and at other locations as well. They will feature numerous non-profit organizations at their events and will give a portion of sales from their own private label back to the local community. Connect’s innovative approach to retail and commitment to the community pair perfectly with Nau’s goal of responsibly revolutionizing the apparel industry. For those in Chicago, look for Nau clothing at Connect when it opens it doors on November 7!

Connect Chicago

Nau

Nau We’re Talking!

For anyone who missed it, Nau (the cutting-edge, amazing eco-friendly clothing brand) who closed their doors this May, have announced they will re-open this October. Their new line will release for the fall and holiday season, incorporating the same design philosophy of balancing beauty, performance, and sustainability. The re-opening of Nau is being taken on by a group of former Nau employees, and they’ve found a partner to purchase the bulk of the company’s assets. The partner company, called Horny Toad, is a successful Santa Barbara-based lifestyle apparel business. Nau will continue to source materials and produce garments in the most environmentally possible ways, while adhering to their high factory standards and practices. Clothing will still be available for purchase on nau.com, however they will not be operating their own retail stores (at least not yet) upon this re-launch. To quote their site, “we’re coming back. Smaller and a little wiser, our ambitions tempered a bit by the experience, but our passions most definitely intact.”

To learn more about Nau and their re-launch, visit their blog - The Thought Kitchen.

Shoe Production, DIY Style

It’s unclear what happened to this product that Patagonia was selling for a while. It’s a DIY (do-it-yourself) Shoe that you make or “produce” yourself when it arrives. Their focus was on sustainable production through the reuse of post-industrial waste. Patagonia’s “DIY Shoe” certainly addresses the desire to customize and the need to leave a minimal footprint on the Earth. The moccasin-type shoe used to sell for $30.00 on patagonia.com. At the time it was on the market some described it as a “distinctive and easy-to-assemble shoe, requiring no glue or tools, DIY shoes provide both maximum comfort and ample opportunity for personal expression.” The design of the shoe itself is not the most amazing we’ve seen but we do have to give them credit because it’s made from leftover factory scraps and all of the parts are easily separable, repairable, and replaceable if needed.