Southwest Austin - Dripping Springs Edition | April 2025

Business

BY SARAH HERNANDEZ

Whole Earth Provision Co. sells outdoor apparel, footwear, accessories, gifts, and more.

SARAH HERNANDEZCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Whole Earth Provision Co. has Austin locations on North and South Lamar Boulevard.

Whole Earth Provision Co.’s South Austin is located within the Westgate shopping center.

COURTESY WHOLE EARTH PROVISION CO.

Whole Earth Provision Co. reects on 55 years

Texas family-owned outdoor and adventure retailer Whole Earth Provision Co. will celebrate its 55th anniversary at the end of this year. First opened in Austin in 1970, now with six stores in four cities, the brand continues to be a space for community

archived San Francisco Examiner article, those remaining stores closed in 1998. What they oer The store sells casual, outdoor and recreational clothing and footwear for men, women and children; gifts, toys and books; as well as travel and outdoor gear. Austin has two Whole Earth stores on North and South Lamar Boulevard and others in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. “We have denitely been out in the market and in the world, and do a lot of comparing and making sure that what we have is unique, [and] is going to provide that element of discovery,” Owens said. “We also really want to make sure that what we sell is respectful to the planet as well.” What’s special about it? Whole Earth has also brought communities together. The business has partnered with organi- zations such as Texas State Parks and Hill Country Conservancy in cities with a Whole Earth store to donate to, host events and provide free gear. Owens said running a store has only gotten harder since the ‘70s, but Whole Earth’s unique heritage and years of experience make it stand out today. She said they want to leverage Whole Earth stores as more than a source of products, but a place for education, discovery and connection. “It’s always been about people, and it’s going to be about people going forward,” she said.

and discovery. How it started

Whole Earth Provision’s rst store opened near the University of Texas at Austin campus in 1970.

COURTESY WHOLE EARTH PROVISION CO.

Founded by Jack and Linda Jones, the rst store was born from the idea of opening a shop based on the Whole Earth Catalog, a popular American counterculture publication in the late 1960s. “It was like an entire lifestyle catalog, but every- thing in it had some element of exploration and discovery and enrichment,” said Shannon Owens, marketing manager for Whole Earth Provision Co. The store opened on Dec. 14, 1970, near San Antonio and West 24th Streets in Austin. Before, the Joneses were living in Dallas. They and Joe Jones, Jack’s brother and a Whole Earth co-owner, are The University of Texas at Austin alumni and agreed that Austin’s culture and open-mindedness in the ‘70s aligned with what they would oer. The store sold out of everything in its rst two weeks and had to temporarily close to restock. “There weren’t places around in those times to get the kind of products that we sold in the early days,” Owens said. Owens said that to their knowledge, only one other Whole Earth Catalog-inspired store still exists, Whole Earth Access in California. According to an

The store carries brands such as Patagonia, The North Face, Teva, Camelbak, YETI and more.

SARAH HERNANDEZCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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S. LAMAR BLVD.

1 4477 S. Lamar Blvd., Ste. 200, Austin 2 1014 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin www.wholeearthprovision.com

SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION