A SOUVENIR clothing company in York has been growing in popularity - despite the pandemic derailing holiday plans.

Danny Sullivan, 28, set up Good Trip Clothing to give people a premium alternative to cheap, garish travel t-shirts, favouring instead understated designs with landscapes and flags.

He quit his job to work on the business full time just before the pandemic struck. Despite the uncertainty, he has launched new ranges, grown sales and expanded the product offering, with an option to customise designs based on personal travel experiences.

Danny teamed up with Stanley/Stella, suppliers of quality organic materials, manufactured using ethical and sustainable practices, and partnered with embroidery and printing companies in the UK. He then decided to give 20 per cent of the profits to local charities.

Since his first sale at the start of 2019, he had raised £1,200 from clothing sales for charities in Southeast Asia by the end of the year. Since June 2020, 20 per cent of profits are being donated to local charities across all product ranges which now includes the ski resort ranges where people can donate to Disability Snowsport UK or Ski 4 Cancer.

The idea was born following a trip to Japan with his girlfriend Abbie Rook, when Danny wanted to buy a clothing keepsake.

“Everything was so garish and bad quality. I went online and couldn’t find anything I liked. I thought ‘why not create something for myself that I would want to wear’.”

He added: “I worked a few ski seasons in Meribel. I launched a few designs and they went down really well. Staff started wearing them as their uniforms. I got them in four resorts and had trade events set up. When I got back from this winter the coronavirus cut short my plans.

“I had to adapt to a new business model which wasn’t so reliant on being in shops and selling at trade events because I didn’t know how long it would last. I set up designs for Japan, Sri Lanka and Cambodia but I was getting messages for more obscure places like towns in Germany and ski resorts.”

Danny who works from his home in York said he was turning over £1000 to £2000 a month during the winter season. Since the lockdown this has increased to £7,000 a month.

“I already think it has the growth potential to be the biggest player in the market for what’s on offer,” he said. “I am trying to change the perception of the souvenir market to make people think differently about the clothes they buy.”

Danny has teamed up with Jamiul Choudhury, winner of BBC2’s Race Across the World 2020 who is helping to promote Good Trip Clothing on Instagram. Danny said he liked the charity element, having donated half of his prize month from the TV series to good causes.