By Kyleigh Barao, Sports Editor
In June, 2019, Carly Sias, a college student at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, started up her own t-shirt company named “Sea Tees”. This company is a brand that is dedicated to the protection and restoration of the oceans through selling merchandise and donating a large part of the profits to ocean restoration efforts.
“When you buy a Sea Tee, your contribution not only helps me keep my business up and growing, but 75% of total profit is donated directly to the cause, helping to make a difference,” said Sias. “The money that isn’t donated is funneled back into the business, which not only helps to pay for the website, advertising, materials and so on, but it also gives me the opportunity to host clean up events, to set up booths at other events to promote, sell and educate people on the cause.”
Running your own business at such a young age can seem like a daunting task, but Sias grew up watching how her Grandfather ran his contracting business, and learned a lot from him. “He taught me a lot about what it’s like to own your own business, and told me a lot about all of the ups and downs that come with it,” said Sias. It was from watching him where she realized she wanted to follow in his footsteps and have her own business one day too.
Giving back has also always been a big part of Sias’s life, from selling her artwork and donating the profits, to making food and care packages to feed the homeless. Being born in Florida and spending her life growing up on the coasts of Rhode Island and Maine, the ocean has also been a big part of her life as well.“I always try and find a way to help, I have a firm belief that if you’re capable of helping somebody or something less fortunate than you are, that you should. For me that transferred into Sea Tees.”
“I started Sea Tees with the notion that, of all things I could make in life, change is the most important to me,” said Sias, pictured above.
Sias had already been working at a custom clothing store, and she figured she could use her knowledge from that to help out the oceans. She believes the oceans are far more important than most people realize, and wants people to do everything in their power to help clean them up.
“Sea Tees bridges the gap between sustainability and fashion. Whenever I wear it in public I always get compliments about it and a part of that has to do with its inspirational design, and its slogan on every tee shirt that says ‘saving the sea with a tee’. It makes me happy knowing I am a walking activist for marine life,” said Jordan Boulay, a junior at Northeastern University and proud Sea Tees customer.
Seatees.org offers a colorful array of short and long sleeve t shirts with different Sea Tee logo options. Also available are baseball caps, sweatshirts, crewnecks, and even a special “faces of Australia” long sleeve shirt where the profits go towards restoring Australia after the wildfires. The shirts are a nice, thick quality that are garment dyed, which gives each shirt a unique character. This process of producing the clothing herself means she can do so with fewer chemicals and amounts of waste while still ensuring quality.
To Sias, Sea Tees isn’t just about selling the shirts to donate the profits, it’s about doing everything she can to make a difference. To buy a Sea Tee, visit SeaTees.org . You can also follow them on instagram @sea_tees_ .