Goldenbuoy

Est. 2020

In March 2020, when the first UK lockdown began, this site launched with just three t-shirt designs. The brand was simply a creative outlet to focus on away from the day job, but within a couple of weeks stock was selling out and within a few months over a thousand tees had been sold.

Thank you to everyone who has embraced Golden Buoy so far. It's been totally unexpected and one hell of a ride.

From an attic in London

Having spent my youth racing every weekend as a dinghy sailor, branching out to windsurfing, kayaking and canoeing, and then becoming a watersports instructor after leaving school, I've been in love with the water for most of my life.

Over the years I'd built up a wardrobe full of surf tees and, after a decade working in marketing and branding, I had a desire to put my skills to good use and create my own.

When lockdown descended on the UK in March 2020 I suddenly had the time to focus on making Golden Buoy a reality, launching the first three designs with a tiny amount of stock from my attic in London.

Responsible from day one

Every single order gets sent out in boxes made from 100% recycled cardboard, printed with water based inks here in the UK, which can be placed in your household recycling bin. Should you need to return anything, the boxes can be reused then we’ll take care of the recycling at this end.

We don't store or send anything in plastic sleeves. All stock is stored neatly folded and posted loose in the recyclable cardboard boxes. We don't attach tags, so every item is ready to use straight out of the package with nothing to throw away.

The only additional item in each order is a thank you note made out of seeded paper, which can be planted to grow your own mini herb garden!

Here to do good things

Every t-shirt donates to the lifeboats. You never know when you'll need their support and they're vital to all water users, regardless of your ability.

You'll also get a free bin bag with any t-shirt from the Beaches Are Awesome collection. The bags are made from biodegradable paper so you can do a beach clean without adding more plastic to the issue.

Every order is carbon offset, with automatic donations to reforestation projects based on the size, weight and delivery method of your order.

Rather than encouraging people to spend money with Golden Buoy on Black Friday, we donated the brand's money to The Wave Project to fund surf therapy for up to 30 young people. This is something we'll keep doing, so purchases made at any time of the year will help to fund similar initiatives.