nvohk's Social Business Model: You own it, you manage it, you wear it

"Social" or "open" forms of business are gaining in popularity, from open social software to wikipedia, social marketing, social lending, social design, participatory retail, Web 2.0, and many other collaborative forms with the purpose of engaging the masses. nvohk™ (Los Angeles CA) has only been around a few months and they are already generating a lot of attention with their social business model.

nvohk™ (pronounced 'invoke') will create eco-friendly clothing, with your help. The site is open to everyone to become a member-owner. Membership is limited to 40,000 member-owners and they will officially launch business when they reach 5,000 member-owners (down from the previous goal of 20,000 member-owners to launch). They currently have over 2100 members. Member-owners will contribute $50/year to join and will have the opportunity to vote on designs, advertising, sponsorships, and other business decisions. Ten percent of net profits will go to charities selected by the member-owners and 35% of net profits will be returned to member-owners through reward points. Member-owners have no legal or financial responsibility for the company.

nvohk™'s website states that they are "the first community-managed eco-friendly surf-inspired clothing company." I think it's appropriate to say "how gnarly!"