Wearing your values on your sleeve
In a sea of similar fashion, one company's unique values set it apart.
But being the young and energetic sort, Christensen didn't want to wait the decades it would take to create wholesale change in America's education curriculum. So he turned his attention to something kids pay attention to: pop culture.
"It's unfortunate, but the reality is today's youth and young adults are educated by TV, by movies, by magazines, by the internet," Christensen says. "We're kind of taking the education aspect out of schools, out of universities, and away from parents.
"I thought: If I can put together a brand that shows (sameunderneath), maybe kids will get deeper into what it means to them, and then they may turn around and spring questions about culture and society to teachers or professors," Christensen says.
So he began looking for just the right pop culture medium for getting his message out. Long story short: Christensen created his own clothing brand with fresh, hip designs—described as "street organic" by one writer—and a profound message of tolerance behind it.
His goal was to change the way people look at each other. Not because they're wearing a Sameunderneath shirt, but why.
In eight short years, that message has already spread through the fashion and art communities. Thanks to publicity in GQ, Us, ESPN, Commerce, and Slam magazines, product placement on a network television series, and more, Sameunderneath clothes are sold in stores across the United States, including Beverly Hills, Manhattan, Chicago, Nashville, and Seattle, plus Australia.
Part of Portland's creative community
Sameunderneath, which calls itself a product lifestyle company, has the profile of a business run by young people, with its own community website, called FAMN. Its main website hosts blogs, a Myspace page, home videos, music videos, and music of all flavors. To little surprise, Sameunderneath's staff also is very young; the average age if its eight employees is 24.
That's symbolic of Portland's renowned creative community, which has become a magnet for young entrepreneurs and small businesses: clothing companies, independent filmmakers, musicians, photographers, advertising creatives, and designers of all types. Sameunderneath staff mingle with members of nationally known rock bands The Shins and The Decemberists at, naturally, a coffee shop right down the street from their North Portland store.
That culture, along with Oregonians' fondness for supporting local, value-driven businesses, is what kept the company in Oregon when others urged Christensen to move it to New York or Los Angeles.
"Portland wasn't going to let us be successful overnight," Christensen says. "Portland was going to make it a little more difficult because they were going to watch everything we did. And if we carried the company on the beliefs in our mission statement, they were going to support us tenfold...and they did."
The future of America
Today, a significant and growing part of Sameunderneath's market is 35 and older—a group receptive to the company's environmental message. Indeed, several customers who came into the shop one recent afternoon were closer to Christensen's grandmother's age than to his. But, he says, the ones who ask questions and really
spread the message are the 18- to 25-year-olds.
"Young entrepreneurs are the future of America," Christensen says, "but it's hard for the more experienced businesspeople to grasp that a successful business guy with sleeve tattoos, earrings, and an afro can walk in and talk the talk with them."
That's changing rapidly as entrepreneurs like Christensen and his colleagues become a larger part of the new economy. But will it change Christensen? "I was 22 years old when I walked into a bank with shorts and flipflops on trying to get a loan," he replies. "Eight years later I realize I can still walk into that bank, but now I'd put shoes on."