Ethical Promotional Clothing - Pier32

Our History

Pier32 today is made up of many dedicated individuals. In fact, some of the team have been producing t-shirts and other promotional clothing for over 30 years. You can find out more about who does what by visiting Our Team.

Back in the early 1980s our Managing Director Gerry Hayter was merchandising for well known rock and pop names such as Bruce Springsteen, Don Williams, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Madonna and The Rolling Stones as well as providing on the road merchandising at music festivals such as Capital Radio Jazz Festival, Knebworth Rock Festival, Reading Rock Festival and Wembley County Music Festival. It was also Gerry’s job to seek sponsorship agreements and through PR agencies he set up sponsorship deals with the likes of BASF, Burton Fashion Group, Jack Daniels, Pizza Express, Sony, Southern Comfort and Woolworths to name but a few.

In the mid 80s Gerry took the leap to branching out on his own, setting up ‘Headline’, where he continued to work on merchandising and sponsorship deals. In the early 90s, the business moved from its Soho offices to Thames Ditton in Surrey, rebranding to Pier32 in the process. Around the same time Gerry worked on a merchandising and sponsorship deal with PR agency Hill & Knowlton between Take That and Kellogg’s. The business continued to grow but Gerry started to become aware of the growing concern regarding manufacturing sources of t-shirts. Immediately, ethically produced garments were sourced from Cotton Club, the fully vertically integrated manufacturing facility in North Africa which distributes under the name of Starworld.

During 2004 Pier32 was approached regarding their ethical product range and the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign. In the following year Pier32 fulfilled orders for Action Aid, CAFOD, Care International, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Global Action Plan, Global Justice, Medsin, Merlin, Oxfam, Tearfund, Trade Justice Movement, Traidcraft and War On Want.

Pier32 has continued to be the ethical t-shirt printer of choice for many charities, educational establishments and businesses across the UK. Nowadays, our range includes many brands with WRAP certification as well as promotional clothing made from organic cotton, sustainable bamboo, sustainable eucalyptus and even recycled plastic bottles.