For the last 40 years Mountain Designs has helped Australians get the most out of life’s many adventures, from long haul flights to London to scaling the world’s tallest peaks.
Now, it’s time for the family-owned company to share its passion for cutting-edge outdoor clothing and accessories with the rest of the world, CEO Caroline Machado Campos tells Game Changers host Sarah Harris.
First up, Mountain Designs is set on conquering the highly competitive U.S. market, and as Caroline reveals in series five of our popular video and podcast series, confidence is high.
She believes the brand’s long history, heritage and authenticity will resonate with Americans who are looking for a brand with a difference.
“We’ve provided products for world first expeditions [Australia’s Alyssa Azar, 19, wore Mountain Designs as she became the youngest person to summit Mt Everest in 2016], and that gives us a lot of authenticity,” says Caroline.
“We have a really unique product offering which focuses on sustainability and that’s unique to us.
“I think the U.S. market is saturated with lots of brands, and I think having a new point of difference will definitely be interesting.
“We’re an outdoors brand, and we all just want to protect the planet we love.”
Caroline, who started with Mountain Designs selling on the retail floor, says the company has worked hard to combine innovation and sustainability with every product line.
The extensive ‘green’ range at Mountain Designs includes clothing made from recycled PET bottles, oysters and even jackets from coffee grinds.
“I never thought we could create such a beautiful jacket out of recycled coffee grinds, but that’s exactly what we’ve been able to do,” Caroline tells Sarah.
“The coffee grind turns into an oil which coats the yarn making it water repellent and odour resistant as well.”
Caroline is also proud of the association with brand ambassadors, such as Alyssa and inspiring burns survivor Turia Pitt, who they first linked with when she hiked the iconic Kokoda Trail for the Interplast charity in 2016.
She says Alyssa and Turia’s never-give-up resilience is at the very core of Mountain Designs’ DNA.
Find our more about Mountain Designs, here: www.mountaindesigns.com.
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