Design
How Nike got its start (in a waffle iron in Eugene, Oregon) is legend. Four decades later, the athletic wear giant (aka Fortune 500 company no. 153), with 6,000 employees in the region, and its counterpart Columbia Sportswear, 2,700 employees, anchor a cluster of apparel design firms.
Women’s sportswear maker lucy was born here and has been joined by Keen Footwear, Icebreaker and others. Outside magazine named Icebreaker a Green Gear All Star in 2008.
Apparel design is not just about athletes. The annual Portland Fashion Week features high-fashion designers such as Michelle DeCourcy, Souchi and Leanne Marshall, winner of Project Runway’s design competition this past fall. PFW is a green fashion showcase, featuring clothing made of bamboo, hemp, soy, organic cotton, recycled poly and fair-trade silk.
Global award-winning Ziba Design, growing at 20% year over year since 2003, is constructing a 70,000 square foot headquarters in Portland’s Pearl District, aiming for LEED gold. Other leaders include Gerding Edlen Development, renowned for building green, Allied Works Architecture and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca.
Two major art institutes, the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Art Institute of Portland, feed this cluster, turning out talented graphic artists, web designers, clothing designers and photographers. The University of Oregon offers a school of architecture.
Talent cluster
45% larger than national average for same-size metros, with 10% annual growth since 2001
Firms
215 athletic apparel/active outdoor and 1,900 creative service companies in 2006, as well as 525 freelance architect consultants
Major employers
Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Adidas America, Ankrom Moison Associated Architects, IDC Architects
Workforce
6,600, not including self-employed
Average salary
$45,820
Outlook
Greater Portland is on the cutting edge, with a growing community of companies that are leaders in green thinking
