Pinch. A design office.

Wanting it Nau.

While we'll never know if Nau could have happened at another time, this provides two important answers: First, that hitting consistent singles is almost always more effective than connecting with an occasional home run. And second, sustainability isn't the play; product is. Sports analogies are easy. Business isn't. Sue Nevin's participation in this interview is poignant, given Lucy's history. We know what they say about hindsight.

Posted by Eric Hillerns in Sustainability | 11 May 2008 | Permalink | Comment on this post

A nod to our friends in Hoquiam.

In contrast to the recent sad news regarding Nau, Mother Jones provides a positive report on another regional concern who is working hard to change the perceptions of the consumer and the very workings of a dirty industry. I graduated from Hoquiam High School in Grays Harbor and various members of the Quigg family have been friends of my folks for years. In our studio's efforts to follow a more sustainable path, Pinch has used Harbor 100 since its inception and we have guided our clients to specify Grays Harbor's 100% recycled stock when possible (besides uncoated free sheet, they manufacture a very nice 100% PCW web stock which we used in the latest Forest Park Conservancy Quarterly). For us, it's about more than paper. It's about community and innovation. If you reside—or do business—in the Pacific Northwest, we would urge you to consider doing the same.

Posted by Eric Hillerns in Sustainability | 06 May 2008 | Permalink | Comment on this post

Sadly, Nau is not the time.

Treehugger reports that local retailer Nau has determined that it will cease business operations immediately. Nau's site confirms. At Pinch, we've had our concerns about Nau's brand model. The company was a tweener, of sorts; neither fashion or outdoor performance, yet touted elements of both. And promised more. This was one case study for which we had hoped we were wrong. Talented (mostly local) people with honorable intentions and an interesting product. Apparently too good to be true these days. More later as details surface.

Posted by Eric Hillerns in Sustainability | 03 May 2008 | Permalink | Comment on this post

A good step.

I believe there are few brands as authentic as Patagonia. I'm fairly certain that my partner in business has long tired of my praise for Mr. Chouinard and his apparel enterprise, as have many of my closest associates. So be it. Having never worked for the company, I can't, with any certainty, comment on how it actually operates from within. That being said, I have been a customer since my knucklehead days and I still use the first pieces that I scraped to purchase. So I guess I'm an evangelist, of sorts. Forgive me. I value their product and their process and that guides my purchase decisions every time. As other companies talk about sustainability, Patagonia does its best to convey their practice (and their own flawed policies) with a balance of conviction and reason.

Last season, they introduced The Footprint Chronicles. The idea is simple enough; pick a product, follow it through the development lifecycle, and communicate the good as well as the bad. The site demonstrates how – and where – materials were sourced, constructed, packaged, stored, shipped and sold. Then, it presents distances traveled, Carbon Dioxide emitted, waste generated, and energy consumed. And it solicits feedback. They actually want to know what the customer thinks, for good or ill. The company has tweaked this release to include more product and deeper story content. So is it perfect yet? Absolutely not, but in the spirit of every item developed at Patagonia, The Footprint Chronicles suggests that refinement is never fully done.

Posted by Eric Hillerns in Sustainability | 24 April 2008 | Permalink | Comment on this post

Apparently, information wants to be sold.

English critic Steven Poole made one of his books available free for download from his Web site. He attached a tip jar so that downloaders could pay what they wanted. 30,000 people downloaded his book; fewer than one in a thousand left a tip. He has a thoughtful essay up about his experience, and broader thoughts on decentralized publishing and distribution models. Well worth a read for anyone interested in the publishing business. Via Gruber.

Posted by Adam McIsaac in Sustainability | 20 April 2008 | Permalink | Comment on this post

Read this.

Enlightening, alarming and predictably fiery interview with urban theorists James Howard Kunstler and Nikos Salingaros over at Next American City. Via Bierut at DesignObserver.

Posted by Adam McIsaac in Sustainability | 08 April 2008 | Permalink | Comment on this post