A Truly Sustainable Brand Experience
Based in Southampton, the National Oceanography Centre is one of the world’s top ocean research institutions. NOC’s scientists work around the globe, uncovering links between the ocean, climate change and biodiversity loss, to help every living thing on our planet flourish.
It Began With Branded Uniform
The National Oceanography Centre initially approached us for some sustainable uniform that could showcase their stunning branding whilst staying true to their environmentally responsible mission.
The uniform had to be world-class both in terms of its safety and sustainability. We work with trusted manufacturing partners all over Europe, so we knew just who to turn to.
For the client’s PPE, we chose garments from PORTWEST. Boasting a long association with the Atlantic Ocean, this world leading PPE manufacturer makes some of the strongest & most sustainable protective clothing in the world.
For indoor items, we turned to a sustainable Danish brand called Neutral. Neutral run two sustainability programmes which made them the perfect choice for this project.
- The Neutral® Certified Responsibility™ programme goes beyond the simple expectation that cotton should be 100% organic. It also considers the energy source and usage of the manufacturing process, the social impact of the cotton and a series of other factors.
- Neutral also run the Tiger Cotton programme, which helps farmers to switch to organic cotton crops.
A Challenging Level Of Detail
“This client’s branding is incredibly intricate,” says Lucy Squire, Business Development Manager at Taylor Made Designs. “It only looks right with flawless high-definition print and embroidery.”
National Oceanography Centre’s brand team provided a gorgeous mix of nautical illustrations that could pair perfectly with their two-tone logo. From starfish to squid and whales, every line-drawing adds elegance and context to the overall brand experience.
The challenge for TMD was to ensure that every one of these fine-detail illustrations looked pixel-perfect across all media.
“Our in-house print and embroidery experts are the best in the business,” says Lucy. “We pushed our embroidery machines to the absolute limit in the R&D phase, but there were times where the artwork had to go thinner than the typical diameter of a single embroidery thread. Thankfully, our high-definition systems can print precise designs you can measure in microns.”
A Retail-Ready Brand Experience
Soon after National Oceanography Centre had seen the quality of our uniform work, we started work on a range of retail-ready merchandise.
From branded tote bags to t-shirts, we now support the client with a full range of branded products that they can sell online or at face-to-face events. Merchandise and uniform are managed together, through a single easy-to-use online ordering system that helps keep stock flowing year-round.
Using our specialist lathe printer, we took the client’s stunning marine illustrations and created a suite of beautiful 360° wraparound printed bottles.
We used our own 600ml TIDE bottle for this project. TIDE is a sustainable vacuum-insulated water bottle that can keep drinks hot or cold for hours. It has a rubberised outer to improve grip and prevent condensation.
It also has a large 360° print area. NOC’s high-definition artwork had plenty of space to look its best.
Discover our supplier switchover service
We’re proud to help this vital research centre delight its stakeholders and increase its global exposure with a truly unique portfolio of branded clothing and merchandise.
It’s also a great example of how TMD’s combined uniform and merchandise capabilities come together to make life easy for our clients.
If 2026 is the year you plan to switch uniform or merchandise suppliers (or both), give us a call. We would be delighted to visit you and introduce our services.
