EcoPlum Shines a Spotlight on its B Corp Suppliers: Dock & Bay from London

If you think that Dock & Bay threw in the towel to succeed, you might be right! Standard, bulky towels—out! Towels that stay wet and sandy—out! Towels that do nothing for the environment—out! This UK-based B Corporation is a creator of brightly-colored, striped and patterned sustainable towels using 100% recycled materials, offsetting its carbon footprint, and donating to good causes.

The company is transforming travel accessories and creating problem-solving products for the home, too. With a little over 30 employees, Dock & Bay is a small company with some big accomplishments and aspirations. In 2025, the company celebrated its 10th year of business.

What Inspired the Launch of Dock & Bay?

Dock & Bay was conceived over ten years ago by two young guys with corporate jobs, Andy Jeffries and Ben Muller. Their idea for a company was born out of a common travel frustration that standard towels were too bulky and slow-drying for backpacking exploration. They began to brainstorm ideas for a better travel towel and the business launched in March of 2015.

After a 90-minute television pitch in 2017 on Dragon’s Den, known as Shark Tank in the U.S./Australia, Jeffries and Muller accepted an investment offer.

The founders had thrown in the old towel business for an industry-disrupting new towel that was lighter, faster drying , more compact, and sustainable!

Innovative Design, Environmental and Societal Impact

Dock & Bay innovated their way to produce Quick Dry Towels, lightweight and made for travel from premium 100% recycled DryQ™ fabric. The fabric originates completely from recycled plastic bottles, so 100% means that all the material used in these towels is diverting plastic bottles from becoming waste. Their iconic, colorful striped towels are recognized widely in the marketplace. Branding and pantone-shade customization are available for business clients.

The unique DryQ™ fabric dries about 2x faster than standard cotton towels, is super absorbent, and does not retain a damp smell. Sand shakes off due to a loop-free design. These towels also pack compactly into an iconic, small pouch, ready for the next outing or travel destination.

How is the fabric produced?

• Post consumer plastic is collected and cleaned.
• Plastic is melted and broken down into small plastic chips.
• The plastic chips are fed into a machine, creating two different yarns—polyester and polyamide nylon.
• Yarns are woven together at the company’s factory to create the lightweight, quick drying DryQ™ fabric material used in their products. It takes about 22 recycled plastic bottles to make one towel.

The company now sells over 100 different products. In addition to the beach towels that put them on the map, Dock & Bay also produces picnic blankets, ponchos, tote bags, kitchen tea towels, pillows, dog & kid towels, and hair wraps.

What Makes Dock & Bay Unique?

Dock & Bay created a lighter, durable, and practical travel towel, as well as other useful products that last a long time. “Make it last or don't make it” is their design philosophy because short product lifespans are a waste. Setting them apart are:

• Products engineered to last five years or more, designed to be durable, not disposable.
• A transparent supply chain.
• Fabrics produced from 100% recycled plastic bottles.
• Third-party Global Recycling Standard (GRS) certified for meeting high standards across materials, production, and packaging.
• Biodegradable packaging with eco friendly paper shipping bags.

The Dock & Bay Mission and Measures of Success

The company’s mission is to simply “Make the World Brighter”, while providing earth-friendly, quick dry towels for travel and home. Circularity in production is an important production standard, measured by the number of plastic bottles diverted from becoming plastic pollution. The company also tracks its carbon footprint, setting annual offset goals.

Recent 2025 success metrics:

• Sold over 3 million towels worldwide, using 42.2 million plastic bottles (500 ml). 
• Reached GRS certified threshold for over 80% of their product range and set a 100% goal for this year.
• Met target of 3 million KG of carbon emission offsets.
• Implemented a Supplier Code of Conduct with quality control processes across all factories.

B Corp Certified

B Corporations (B Corps) are value-driven social enterprises that balance purpose and profit. Dock & Bay became a Certified B Corporation (B Corp) in March 2023. To earn certification, a company must demonstrate high standards for social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Their corporate governance must include all stakeholders in decision making, not just shareholders.

Dock & Bay earned a B Corp Assessment score of 83.6 in its 2023 certification. The median score earned by all companies taking the assessment is only 50.9, but to earn certification a company must score over 80. For more about the company’s B Corp status, here is their 2025 B Impact Report and B Corp Profile. 

Dock & Bay Values Chain: Giving Back

Dock & Bay supports organizations that share their desire to improve the world. Since 2015, the business has donated $675k (over £500k). In 2025, they donated $54k to their charity partners, notably Re:wild, a wildlife and land conservation nonprofit. For 2026, its charitable efforts will support CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) and its mental health actions. The company will also work with RePurpose Global to fund plastic recovery projects that deliver traceable impact.

Other charitable partners have included WWF, Whale & Dolphin Conversation (WDC), One Tree Planted, the Hunger Project, Stonewall, and the Red Cross.

In addition to its outward community focus, Dock & Bay is also valued for employee satisfaction and a diverse culture. The company believes in a fair, equal, and ethical work environment. In 2025, The Sunday Times of London included the company in its Best Place to Work list.

Dock & Bay in the EcoPlum Sustainable Swag® Line

Below are images of Dock & Bay towels and colors currently featured by EcoPlum. We expect to expand the availability of different sizes and colors, and to add additional products soon.

Dock & Bay© Quick Dry Beach and Travel Towels