Echidna is Here

Well, we’re finally here.

Echidna is no longer just an idea scribbled in a notebook or a nice daydream. It’s real now. A proper thing. A warm, rugged jumper for cold mornings and colder evenings. Something for Aussies who get on with it, rain or frost or shine.

This brand has grown out of two things: a love for what makes Australia special, and a deep respect for the kind of cold that demands something thick and dependable.

Hi, I’m Mike. And Echidna has been a bit of a journey.

A few years ago, I was travelling through some properly cold places like Japan and Nepal, and I realised the jumpers I had with me weren’t cutting it. My puffer was past its prime. My layers were thin. One freezing night down a quiet back street in Tokyo, I ducked into a random little shop. Clanging through racks, I found this sherpa-lined fleece jumper. It wasn’t flashy, but it felt right. And it worked. That thing kept me warm through all kinds of weather. It became my number one layer. A proper companion.

Eventually, though, as happens, I lost it. Maybe on a train, maybe at a guesthouse. Who knows. But I missed it. I looked for another one like it for years and could never quite find the same thing.

Back home in the Adelaide Hills, stepping out into icy mornings and hearing the crunch of frost underfoot, I figured if I can’t find it, I’ll make it. And if I’m going to go to all that trouble, I may as well do it properly and share it with others.

But another idea was starting to form too..

Travelling had changed how I saw my home country. I came back more aware of what makes this place special. The land, the weather, the wildlife. I had bumped into the echidna a few times in my life. Quiet, tough, curious, it became a bit of a symbol for me. It moves gently through the bush, asking for little, surviving despite everything that’s been thrown at it.

Australia’s native animals are up against a lot. Habitat loss, invasive species, warming temperatures. Even the ones that don’t make headlines are struggling. I wanted Echidna to give back to that fight. So, with every jumper sold, 25 percent of profits go to Aussie wildlife conservation. This isn’t a footnote. It’s the heart of the whole thing.

So, if you like a jumper that pulls its weight, and you want to give something back to our iconic Aussie wildlife, then welcome.

You’re in the right place.

Mike
Founder, Echidna