BOULDER • Passionate about environmental causes, Jim Morris sports a full head of gray hair, a white beard and round glasses.

But his most notable attribute: his excitement. With his signature smile and genuine joy, it’s no wonder he’s often been coined the “internet’s grandpa.”

Always wearing a wildlife-themed tee from his shop — whether a new design or a retired shirt from years ago — he’s quickly become an online sensation.

Viewers have become drawn to clips of Morris, 76, catching frogs at a nearby pond or observing sunflowers through his binoculars. And, of course, sharing his knowledge about the natural world with his tees.

For nearly five decades, Morris has owned and operated Jim Morris Environmental & WildLife T-Shirt Co. in Boulder, advocating for Mother Nature with screen-printed textiles. In the last year, the shop — and Morris — has become a hit on TikTok and Instagram, with his passion catching the attention of hundreds of thousands.

Much of the recent rise in attention can be attributed to Lydia Kramer. The recent grad met Morris last year while working at a coffee shop shortly after earning her bachelor’s in communications.

“We just kind of hit it off. We became friends, and he would come, bring in some of the artworks and designs to the baristas that he was all friends with, and he’d be like, ‘Hey, what do you think of this design? What appeals to young people?’” she said.

At one point, Kramer said, she started joking with Morris saying she would be interested in working marketing for the company’s social media pages. In January, Morris took her up on the offer.

At that time, they had about 1,000 followers on Instagram and no TikTok page. But knowing how passionate Morris was about the environment, paired with his charm, Kramer thought to showcase the man behind the tees.

“I saw Jim and his personality, and I was like, this guy’s so sweet. The T-shirts are so cool. If everybody could see this the way I see it, it would just be awesome,” Kramer said.

And it worked. In the past year, the company’s following has grown to more than 111,000 on TikTok and more than 450,000 on Instagram.

“He’s very charismatic. He’s got this love for nature that’s very evident,” Kramer said. “People feel like they can be a part of something bigger and support this business and show their love for the environment.”

With the increased exposure also came a boom in sales, Kramer said.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, like during COVID our sales sometimes weren’t very good,” Morris said. “Before Lydia, we were sort of struggling with three or four people. Now we’re trying to keep up with 10 people.”

The origin of the company reaches back to the early 1970s. A grad student in Boulder at the time, Morris attended a symposium at Colorado State University about protecting dolphins and whales from commercial hunting and potential endangerment.

Inspired by the movement, Morris and several friends started making T-shirts to raise awareness against whaling.

“At that time, T-shirts were sort of just starting to become more political,” said Morris, who would go on to complete his master’s in mathematics. “I thought, well, maybe I just make T-shirts as a business, because it was getting more expensive.”

So, Morris started making and selling T-shirts to raise awareness for different environmental and wildlife causes. True to its roots, the company has donated more than $218,000 to wildlife and environmental advocacy groups since its start in 1976.

The designs on the T-shirts are sourced from local and regional artists, as well as from advocacy groups. Each piece of artwork relates to an animal or habitat.

Sometimes artists will approach Morris with ideas; other times the shop owner might see something that stands out to him and reach out to the creator.

For example, one of Morris’ most popular T-shirts is “heron tracks,” which features the tracks of the wetland bird on the front and a drawing of a great blue heron on the back. The artwork is by Gelsey Malferrari, who runs the Laughing Coyote Project in Boulder County. The description of the T-shirt explains how one can protect the animal.

“You can help to protect these graceful animals by advocating for strong regulation of agricultural chemicals and industrial waste disposal and conservation of important wetland habitat,” the page states.

With such a focus on the environment, the company primarily uses 100% cotton T-shirts and sweatshirts, and works to ethically source its materials from manufacturers.

“We try to use goods that are well made and will last,” Morris said. “Some of our customers, they’ve had them for years.”

The actual printing is completed in-house. Within the warehouse, hundreds of wooden-framed screens from previous designs stand like books on shelves. Veron Rayas has been working for Morris for more than two decades as part of the printing team, placing T-shirts on the machine one at a time and ensuring they’re properly aligned.

The screen printing machine has been operated by the shop for 30 years. Rayas often replaces the parts and engineers solutions to fix the machine when needed. As it grows older, parts have become harder to come by.

But Morris doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He’s discovered a newfound happiness in spreading his passion with so many online, and hopes to instill that passion in the next generation.

“I keep falling back on the idea that you get joy from nature and wildlife, and you get a sense of connection,” Morris said.