Taylor Swift wears a vintage Monterey Bay Aquarium shirt – raising over $2.3 million for otter rescue.
Taylor Swift sparked a wave of donations to save otters with a T-shirt. The megastar wore a vintage shirt from the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California depicting two swimming otters at a party to celebrate the release of her new album THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL. As a result, a wave of Swifties wished they could also own one of these T-shirts.
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Otter rescue with a star factor
The Monterey Bay Aquarium then launched a fundraiser to reissue the shirt on Oct. 16, according to spokeswoman Liz MacDonald. Proceeds will benefit the sea otter conservation program. Anyone who spends at least $65.13 on injured or orphaned otters will receive the shirt in the mail.
Over $2.3 million for otter rescue
The original goal of raising $1.3 million was reached in less than eight hours, according to the Rheinischer Post. On average, $100,000 was raised every 15 minutes. “Once we got there, there was a little Taylor Swift dance party in the office yesterday afternoon,” MacDonald told media. In two days, the aquarium said it raised over $2.3 million. The call was temporarily closed after the weekend.
Manufacturer can hardly keep up
The demand is so great that the manufacturer of the top can hardly keep up with production. The model was last manufactured in the early 1990s. The producer Liberty Graphics normally produces around 1,500 pieces per day with 50 employees, as manager Matt Enos explained according to the “Rheinischer Post”. “We definitely didn’t expect something this big, but it’s a pretty good problem to have,” he said. From October 20th, most of the production capacity will be used for the Otter T-shirt.
MacDonald also emphasized that the shirt was produced sustainably. “We also try to ensure that no plastic is used for the packaging,” she said, according to the “Rheinischer Post”.