A YOUNG outdoors enthusiast with an entrepreneurial spirit is hoping to boost his new business with a crowdfunding campaign.

Ethan Thomas, of Stainton, set up Summiteer last year offering high-quality sleeping bags at competitive prices.

An outdoors instructor for four years, the 22-year-old decided that he wanted a change.

“I just woke up one morning and decided I wanted to set up my own business,” he said, explaining that he ‘maxed out’ a credit card to order nine boxes’ worth of sleeping bags.

The business quickly took off and Ethan decided to visit China in order to see where his products were being made and to find new factories for both a tent and rucksack he wanted to produce.

“We looked around some of the factories and there were some really good one and some really not very nice ones,” he said. “And it was a bit of an epiphany really.”

Ethan found a responsible factory in China to produce his new tent but came to the conclusion that it would be just as cost effective to make the rucksack in the UK.

“We designed them ourselves, made prototypes ourselves,” he said. “If we manufactured in China at a good factory we are effectively going to pay the same price we are going to pay to make them ourselves.”

Customers can purchase the new products at discounted prices through the Summiteer crowdfunding page, which goes to support the Endmoor-based factory.

And now that Ethan feels confident that the business has a clear ethical stance when it comes to workers’ conditions, he has started to focus on the environmental impact of the business.

The backpacks will be made from a type of polyester produced from discarded plastic bottles.

“Our small business is not going to make a huge difference to global warming but we can use our brand, logo and image to inspire customers to think about the environment impact that they have,” he said.

“I think half the battle is just being bold enough to do something like this, and then making it clear why you’re doing it.

“It may not earn us the most money in the short term, but I think promoting this ethos is a way of educating consumers to make better decisions in the future.”

If you are interested in supporting Ethan’s business, you can visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/summiteer