3072

That’s the postcode for the suburb of Preston, Victoria. Or, if you have a compass and can measure longitude and latitude, it’s 37.743°S 145.008°E. The place has never really had a connection to outdoor activities, other than some rugged camp-styled living as the area was being cleared and settle for farming and later residential use in the mid-1800s. But now a mixture of residential and industrial areas, Preston is home to the operations of Wilderness Wear, and this is where almost everything to do with its product takes place. In this sense, Preston is really being put onto the outdoor map. (And since the buildings are right beside the Darebin Creek, that sort of makes it ‘camped by a billabong!)

The company prides itself for its ‘under one roof’ operation, which sees each stage of an item’s conception, birth and early nurturing take place with total control before being set into the hands of an excited and enthusiastic customer. Within the walls of the buildings in Preston, shirts are designed, fabrics knitted, patterns cut, stock warehoused, socks formed, materials invented, products marketed, prototypes tested, items washed and pressed, final products packaged, orders processed and the business administered. Being self-reliant is a big advantage to the end products, enabling Wilderness Wear to produce its goods exactly as they should be.

It can honestly be said, ‘Made in Preston, worn around the world’. (There’s probably a t-shirt design to be created for that!)