The wool overshirt
€145 isn’t cheap. But a nice wool flannel shirt costs a lot. And the details are well-crafted: an inside pocket, lining in the sleeves so you can wear it over a T-shirt, thick buttons sewn in a cross pattern… And finally, that’s the price of manufacturing in nearby Europe, where workers are paid a living wage.
To be released in December 2024
To keep you warm without making you feel stuffy (that's right—wool is breathable).
Thanks to the fineness of the wool fibers and the fulling process (that is, the fabric was rubbed with hot water to make it felt).
This overshirt is made in Portugal at the Marfel factory, with which we have been working since 2023.
Worn, tested, and approved by thousands of customers, this shirt is the result of several years of continuous improvement. We’ve refined it over time to achieve a balance of quality, ethics, and price that we now consider optimal.
For example, we could lower the price by using a fabric that’s less soft, less dense, or contains less wool, but the overshirt would be less warm and less comfortable to wear.
Techniques That Ensure Quality
Thick fabric
The fabric's high density (320 g/m²) helps prevent holes from forming (especially at the elbows) and keeps you nice and warm
Tissu épais
Fulling
Thick buttons
Fulling
A process that involves lightly felting a wool fabric—that is, compacting it by applying moist heat and mechanical agitation. The wool fibers interlock, forming a dense, warm, naturally water-repellent, and very soft fabric.
Thick fabric
Fulling
Thick buttons
Thick buttons
We chose thick resin buttons that won’t break in the washing machine, unlike wooden or mother-of-pearl ones.
Just in case, a spare button is sewn onto the care label.
Thick fabric
Fulling
Thick buttons
Stay Warm All Year Round
Wear it as a jacket over a T-shirt or under a coat in the winter. Thanks to its thick, soft wool fabric, this shirt will keep you warm all year round.
In detail
Wool baskets
That's the name of this slightly felted, fluffy fabric.
Deep shade
The fabric is made of wool fibers in slightly different colors: that's what gives it its rich color.
Two exterior pockets
It's practical and it's beautiful.
An inside pocket
So you can wear this overshirt as a jacket.
Lined sleeves
Made from organic cotton fabric, so it won't itch when worn over a T-shirt and will slide on easily.
How to Wear It
A few ideas if you're stuck
Composition
100% virgin wool
Origin and Certifications
- Wool: Portugal and Uruguay
- Spinning and Dyeing: Portugal and India
- Weaving and manufacturing: Portugal
...manufacture in Portugal instead of France? Of course, manufacturing in Portugal allows us to sell at lower prices. But it’s also easier to produce high-quality items there: in the 1980s, when France outsourced its manufacturing, Portugal strengthened its own. That said, other companies besides ours manage to make 100% wool overshirts that are made in France, such as AATISE.
How This Product Will Age
How do we know this? We ask our customers for their feedback on the product one year after purchase. And if the product is less than a year old, we provide our predictions based on some unsolicited feedback and our experience with similar products.
This overshirt won’t lose its shape at all, thanks to the elastic properties of wool. It might eventually develop some pilling—for example, on the sides from elbow friction—but nothing that a quick pass with a lint shaver can’t fix. The biggest risk is moths if they take up residence in your closet—here’s an article we wrote to help you get rid of them.
Care Instructions
Do not machine wash to prevent shrinkage: if you really want to wash this overshirt, you must wash it by hand or take it to a dry cleaner. Note: If you take it to a dry cleaner, be sure to ask for “dry cleaning” (not “water-based cleaning,” which some dry cleaners use and which can cause slight shrinkage).
But you probably don’t need to go that far: on wool, stains usually come out with a quick wipe using a damp sponge (without rubbing too hard, so as not to damage the fabric). Plus, wool is antibacterial: it doesn’t hold onto odors if you air it out regularly.
Environmental Cost
This environmental cost is calculated using the official methodology of the French environmental labeling system (to be rolled out starting October 1, 2025).
The label above shows the product’s environmental cost according to the official French environmental labeling methodology. This represents what its production “costs” nature when considering its impact on climate change, ocean acidification, its toxicity to freshwater, and so on. Currently in use in the textile sector, this label should soon appear on many everyday consumer products (food, cosmetics, furniture, etc.) to help you make more eco-friendly purchasing decisions.
The wool overshirt therefore has an environmental cost of 3,373 impact points*.
By comparison, a garment of equivalent weight—made of 100% acrylic, manufactured in Bangladesh, and sold by a fast-fashion brand—has an environmental cost of 3,629 points*.
Why is there this difference? Here are the main reasons:
- Countries of origin: Manufacturing in Portugal or France requires less fossil fuel energy than in Bangladesh (one of the leading producers of low-cost clothing). As a result, this more local manufacturing reduces the impacts on climate change, ocean acidification, and resource depletion.
- The material: Wool has a fairly significant environmental impact, particularly because sheep release methane—a powerful greenhouse gas—during digestion. For this reason, the difference between the environmental impact of our product and that of fast fashion is not very significant. However, unlike acrylic, wool has major advantages: it is warm (thanks to its insulating properties), retains its shape (the fiber is very elastic), breathable (it wicks away sweat), and odor-resistant (it prevents the growth of bacteria).
- Sustainability: Fast-fashion retailers encourage purchasing—in particular by rapidly refreshing their collections and offering a vast number of styles—and they discourage repairs by charging rock-bottom prices. This, in turn, increases the number of garments sold per person and reduces the number of times a garment is worn. In contrast, at Loom, we’ve chosen to adopt business practices that encourage our customers to keep their clothes for as long as possible.
Even though we've done everything we can to minimize it, this product's environmental impact is not insignificant. So before you buy, make sure to get the most use out of your clothes.
*Calculations performed by Loom on August 24, 2026. Click on the links to access the simulations from the official Ecobalyse tool and get more details on the assumptions used. Please note: The number of points is not always exactly the same on Ecobalyse (whose methodology changes regularly) as on the official environmental label (based on Ecobalyse version 7.0).
Reviews of this product
The standard practice is to send review request emails a few days after the purchase. We wait a month—the minimum amount of time needed to form an informed opinion.
Customer Review Policy
When do you ask customers for reviews?
We’ll send you a review request one month after we receive your order. We believe this is the minimum amount of time needed to have worn and washed an item several times and to form a truly informed opinion. After that, all your reviews are published within a week, whether they’re positive or negative.
Do you request reviews for 100% of the products ordered by customers?
We used to do that at first, but then we realized we were starting to send way too many emails to certain customers who shop with us regularly. In short, we were spamming them a bit. Plus, it was starting to take the team way too much time to respond to reviews—since we want to reply individually and privately to almost everyone who leaves us a review. Today, we no longer ask for reviews on products that meet the following two criteria: 1/ There are enough reviews posted on the site for potential buyers to form an informed opinion about the product. 2/ We on the Loom team have read enough reviews to understand how to evolve the product into the next generation.
Just a quick thought: What proof is there that we aren't manipulating reviews by giving 5-star ratings to everything?
Honestly: nothing—we’re just giving you our word. Just like with everything else, actually: where we manufacture our products, where our wool comes from, our lab test results, and so on. The only times we might edit what you write is if your message contains spelling mistakes (and even then, quite a few slip past us) or if it’s racist, homophobic, etc. (but that’s never happened so far).
Asking for feedback after just one month isn't enough to know if the clothes are really durable, is it?
You're right—that's why we send you another email asking for a review one year after your purchase—we even ask for a photo to see how your garment has aged. We use the responses to improve our clothing and to provide information on “how this product will age” on our product pages. To avoid unnecessarily bothering our customers, we don’t ask for reviews on 100% of the products ordered: as soon as we have enough data to understand where we can improve, we stop asking for reviews after one year.