A T-shirt worn by Taylor Swift sparks a $2M windfall for sea otters
[October 18, 2025]
By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
San Francisco (AP) — A Northern California aquarium has raised more than
$2 million for sea otter conservation in just two days. All it took was
Taylor Swift wearing a vintage T-shirt.
Swift wore a vintage Monterey Bay Aquarium otter conservation T-shirt in
a release party movie for her new “The Life of a Showgirl” album,
sending her ardent fans on a quest to buy the shirt last produced in the
1990s. After the aquarium was flooded with calls about buying the
T-shirt showing two otters floating on their back, it decided to
re-release the garment Thursday as part of a special campaign to raise
$1.3 million, a nod to Swift’s favorite number, said Liz MacDonald, the
aquarium’s director of content strategy.
The aquarium met and surpassed its goal to raise the funds for its sea
otter conservation program in less than eight hours, averaging about
$100,000 in sales every 15 minutes, MacDonald said. Donors who give at
least $65.13 to its newest fundraising campaign to help injured and
orphan otters will be mailed a T-shirt, MacDonald said.
“We definitely had a little Taylor Swift dance party in the office
yesterday afternoon when we hit the goal,” she said.
The aquarium began accepting back-orders and by Friday afternoon it had
raised more than $2 million, according to its website.
How Swift acquired the T-Shirt that was last produced more than 32 years
ago — when she was just 3 years old — remains a mystery.
She and fiancé Travis Kelce have been documented visiting nearby Carmel,
but MacDonald said the aquarium is not aware of the couple having been
in their shop.
MacDonald said the staff has had fun speculating about Swift's interest
in the T-shirt.
When Taylor announced the release of her new album on Kelce’s podcast
"New Heights" a couple of weeks ago, the couple had a little banter
about how he loves otters and loves sending her videos of the furry sea
creatures.
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This undated photo provided by the Monterey Bay Aquarium shows a
person wearing the re-released Monterey Bay Aquarium t-shirt on
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Pacific Grove, Calif. (Monterey Bay
Aquarium via AP)
 “One of my favorite theories is that
we have a sea otter on our exhibit whose name is Opal and she was
named by the fans through an online poll, and I wonder if Taylor
Swift may have been one of the people that voted for the name Opal,”
MacDonald said, adding that opal is Kelce’s birthstone and that
Opalite is the name of one of Swift’s songs.
Whatever the reason, the aquarium and Liberty Graphics, an
employee-owned company printing the T-shirts, are reveling in the
moment.
“They’re a company based in Maine who were as taken by surprise as
us, but who are also as delighted to have this opportunity to be
part of this amazing moment that does so much for sea otters and for
ocean conservation,” MacDonald said.
Liberty Graphics will use 100% cotton in the T-shirts and
water-based ink, which is more ocean-friendly and sustainable, she
said.
“We’re also working to make sure that the packaging doesn’t use
plastic," she added.
The company of 50 employees normally produces 1,500 shirts a day,
said Matt Enos, a company manager.
Enos said that beginning Monday the company will probably have to
focus most of its resources on fulfilling T-shirt orders from
Swifties.
“We definitely didn’t envision something this big but it’s a pretty
good problem to have,” he said.
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