The heavyweight T-shirt
To be released in December 2023
To be released in July 2025
- Switch to a sewn-on collar, which fits better around the neck and is more durable.
- We’ve added a few strands of (recycled) polyester for even better durability over time. We use as few synthetic materials as possible: we only use them when they significantly extend the product’s lifespan—and in this case, there’s no contest.
We use organic cotton because so-called “conventional” cotton is a disaster for insects, birds, and farmers. Learn more in this article.
This T-shirt is thicker than standard T-shirts (which typically weigh between 120 and 180 g/m²). This gives it a nice drape and better durability over time: with cotton jersey fabrics, the heavier the fabric, the less it loses its shape (see our test results).
If you're looking for a thinner T-shirt, check out our classic T-shirt.
The fit is slightly loose without being oversized. If you're looking for a more fitted style, check out our classic T-shirt.
For this T-shirt, we used “open-end” yarn, a spinning technique invented in the 1970s that tightly intertwines the fibers. The result is a slightly irregular texture and feel, similar to the beautiful vintage T-shirts you find.
This T-shirt is made in Portugal at the Triwool factory, with which we have been working since 2017.
Worn, tested, and approved by thousands of customers, this T-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, to lower the price, we could have it manufactured in Asia or North Africa, but that would come at the expense of the working conditions of the women who make it.
Techniques That Ensure Quality
Reinforced collar
After seven years of refining our T-shirts, we’ve succeeded in developing a collar structure that doesn’t warp with repeated washings, thanks to the addition of several polyester filaments inside the collar.
Reinforced collar
Open-end yarn
Pre-wash
Open-end yarn
This type of spinning gives the fabric a crisp feel. Advantages: no pilling (because the fibers are tightly intertwined), and no twisting (because the yarn is not twisted around itself, unlike in conventional “ringspun” spinning).
Reinforced collar
Open-end yarn
Pre-wash
Pre-wash
This T-shirt has been stabilized and pre-washed at the factory to prevent it from shrinking at home (with cotton clothing, most of the shrinking occurs during the first wash).
Reinforced collar
Open-end yarn
Pre-wash
A thick, straight-cut T-shirt
This T-shirt is thicker than average: it’s made with a thick “open-end” (organic) cotton yarn, a spinning technique invented in the 1970s that tightly intertwines the fibers. The result is a slightly irregular texture and feel, similar to that of beautiful vintage T-shirts. And thanks to this yarn, the fabric is less prone to stretching than lighter T-shirts. The cut is straight for added comfort and a modern look.
In detail
Stand-up collar
The collar is lined and secured with double topstitching for a better fit.
Clean edge strip
The seam runs the entire length of the shoulders: this makes it more durable over time and helps the T-shirt fit well on the shoulders.
Printed label
To prevent the neck from feeling itchy and to avoid damaging the fabric with the attachment seams.
Natural Ecru
The ecru color isn’t achieved with dyes—it’s the natural hue of the (organic) cotton. By skipping the dyeing step, we not only end up with a fabric that has a distinctive texture, but we also avoid using a lot of chemicals and greenhouse gases.
How to Wear It
A few ideas if you're stuck
Composition
100% cotton
Origin and Certifications
- Cotton: Turkey
- Spinning, weaving, dyeing, and garment 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 products there: in the 1980s, when France outsourced its manufacturing, Portugal strengthened its own. That said, other companies besides ours manage to make very good T-shirts that are 100% made in France, such as 1083 or Le Slip Français.
…does the yarn come from so far away? We looked for high-quality organic cotton yarn produced as close to home as possible. We would have preferred a Portuguese spinning mill, but, to the best of our knowledge, there is no factory in the country that produces GOTS-certified 100% plain cotton “compact” yarn.
... does cotton really come from so far away? In reality, cotton always comes from far away: while a few die-hard Gauls manage to grow it in their fields, cotton cultivation is marginal in Europe.
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.
Thanks to its heavyweight construction, this T-shirt will retain its shape well. Because it’s made from open-end yarn with tightly intertwined fibers, it won’t pill. And since the yarn wasn’t twisted during the spinning process, it will hardly twist at all.
However, its irregular texture may become more pronounced with repeated washings, as is the case with some vintage T-shirts. With repeated washing, the collar may lose its shape slightly. Finally, as with all 100% cotton garments, the colors will fade over time, and white fabric may yellow due to deodorants and sweat (but our customers have managed to restore it every time using sodium percarbonate—see the tutorial here).
Care Instructions
Don't worry about it—it's just a T-shirt: wash it inside out at 30°, with similar colors, and everything will be just fine.
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 heavyweight T-shirt therefore has an environmental cost of 572 impact points*.
By comparison, a garment of equivalent weight made of 100% conventional cotton, manufactured in Bangladesh and sold by a fast-fashion brand, has an environmental cost of 2,424 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: Organic cotton has a relatively low environmental impact compared to conventional cotton, particularly because it uses few pesticides (and thus poses a low risk of toxicity to freshwater) and is biodegradable (and thus causes fewer issues related to microfibers or end-of-life waste).
- 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.