Mountainspiration Apparel is a local apparel company in Asheville, NC that donates 5% of all of their proceeds to WNC nonprofits. The business offers their customers the option to choose which WNC nonprofit will receive 5% of their purchase when they check-out. Mountainspiration was originally founded by Evans Prater.
The idea just came to him one day. On a Blue Ridge Parkway hike, he kept thinking, “Everything you carry should be light,” followed by the idea, “That would be a great bumper sticker!” Evans quickly began building the website. The business, however, Evans did not build alone.
His close friend and the singer of his band, Juliana Rodriguez, asked to be the intern for Mountainspiration. Soon after Evans’ friend from his days of teaching surfing and ocean lifeguarding in San Diego, Adam Morgan, came on as a creative consultant and partner. Lastly, Evans’ father, Bill Lipner, has volunteered his time and energy to help with bookkeeping, taxes and sales.
Evans has always worked for non-profits and even founded his own a few years ago. His goal in creating a for-profit venture was to work closely with the non-profit community, donate a portion of profits, host charity events and create collaborative t-shirts to not only fulfill his mission of inspiring people to go outside, but work to protect the places he’s encourage his customers to visit.
“I envision people spreading messages of light, love and inspiration across the world through our awesome t-shirts, hats, stickers and eventual full clothing line — feeling good knowing that their shirts come from recycled plastic bottles, while helping the organizations preserving the natural beauty of our planet.”
On what it’s like starting his own business, Evans says it’s been a rollercoaster. He goes on to say, “Starting any company is an uphill battle. The internet is a crowded place, and getting people to buy things is always difficult. I know in my heart, though, that if you truly believe in what you’re doing and have a message of peace, light and love, anything is possible.”
You can help support this awesome company with an incredible mission here. You can also buy our Chari-Tees on their website to donate 100% of the proceeds to Dogwood Alliance to protect Southern forests!
