Apparel brand with LBK ties launches partnerships with local nonprofits

Looking to support local nonprofits and sport a unique, colorful T-shirt? SeaMonkey Apparel now allows customers to do just that. 

Last month, co-owners Alexandra Lowe-Mains and her husband James Mains started the program called “SeaMonkey Gives Back” in which every month the company will partner with a local organization to raise awareness for and give back to the organization. 

This month, SeaMonkey Apparel is spotlighting Longboat Key Turtle Watch with a specialty T-shirt. SeaMonkey will donate $3 from every sale of that shirt to LBKTW, and $1 from every other apparel sale. 

Alexandra Lowe-Mains and James Mains credit Longboat Key as the birthplace of their business, SeaMonkey Apparel. 

“The island is super special to us in many ways,” Alexandra Lowe-Mains said, also noting that their engagement photos were shot on Greer Island. 

The couple spent about five or six years coming up with a business plan for an apparel business that sells T-shirts, long sleeves, hats, stickers and more. 

Courtesy image

During that planning period, Alexandra Lowe-Mains and James Mains said they spent many evenings talking about this dream, thinking about the “what-ifs.”

“A lot of that occurred while we were on the beach at Whitney Beach and brainstorming what this brand would look like,” Alexandra Lowe-Mains said. 

Later, one of the original T-shirt designs would include the beach’s coordinates on the bottom of the logo.

In November 2022, the couple decided to pull the trigger and launch the brand. Alexandra Lowe-Mains stepped down from her full-time role as senior office manager for Longboat Key’s Public Works Department. This will be her tenth year with the town, and she still fills in part-time as needed. 

In that role, Alexandra Lowe-Mains said she frequently worked with LBKTW and has followed the organization's work through social media for a long time. 

“When James and I were talking about who we wanted to partner with for the month of June, they just felt like a natural fit for us. And we already had a turtle design in the works, so all the stars kind of aligned,” Alexandra Lowe-Mains said. 

When the couple started the Seamonkey Gives Back program last month, Save Our Seabirds was the first partner. In the past, the brand had other partnerships with places like Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, Florida Breast Cancer Foundation and Suncoast Aqua Ventures. 

Now the program is official. Alexandra Lowe-Mains and James Mains said the goal is to keep the SeaMonkey Gives Back program running and choose a different organization for every month.