An eco-friendly clothing company started a year ago by a husband and wife team will be producing merchandise for the Bolton Marathon.

Zero Negativity Clothing was founded by Dan and Michelle Gaunt after they left the police force, after Dan suffered from PTSD.

They decided to set up their own business to promote more positivity in the the world, not only through the messages they print on their t-shirts but by the environmentally friendly processes behind them.

Mr Gaunt said: "My wife and I went through some terrible stuff in the police. it just didn't make us happy anymore. We wanted to do something that helps people and still has a positive impact on people.

"When we were walking around John Lewis and saw all the designer t-shirts,we thought 'There's no way these t-shirts can cost this much', so we had this idea of starting our own business.

"Originally we worked with, and still do, In Kind Direct, a charity where for each t-shirt sold we would give one away. We printed and posted them ourselves."

The business, based near Edgworth, found that it needed to change its approach in order to make enough profit for Dan and Michelle to live off it.

Mr Gaunt said: "Without a steady stream of marketing it was difficult to make enough money to provide for ourselves.

"Then we got contacted by Rich and they were the first local company to get us into wholesale. It's great that we're a local company working with them.

"Keeping it local is very important to us, it's about staying true to our roots.

The Bolton Marathon, which takes place on May 17, plans on being the greenest race of its kind. By teaming up with Zero Negativity Clothing they are ensuring that even the merchandise is eco-friendly. The company only use water-based inks which are skin friendly and they ensure that no toxins are used when creating their t-shirts.

"We're creating the pre-race merchandise, the finishing t-shirts and even the race numbers out of cotton instead of plastic.

"All our cotton is organic and it is all accredited. It comes on the slowest of slow boats from India. There's no negative impact in the process.

"We do not want to be part of this fast fashion industry.

"People think that organic clothing is more expensive, but really it's the conventional stuff that is artificially cheap. Three quid t-shirts from Primark, it gets people talking. We shouldn't be paying more for coffee than a t-shirt."