The merino T-shirt
We realize that a €75 T-shirt isn't cheap. But this merino wool fabric is very expensive, and we manufacture in Europe: we've kept our markup on this product as low as possible—it's the lowest price you'll find for this level of quality and these ethical production standards.
May 2022
This T-shirt is made mostly of wool, which is why it doesn't wrinkle, doesn't lose its shape, and doesn't hold onto odors very well. It also contains a small amount of polyamide to make it more durable.
The merino wool in this T-shirt is particularly fine (with a diameter of 17.5 microns, whereas the average for merino wool is around 20 microns). The finer the wool fibers, the less stiff they are and the less they feel prickly.
Three times more durable than a 100% wool T-shirt thanks to the addition of a nylon thread.
Our merino-polyamide yarn has been treated so that it can be machine-washed without felting.
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 a balance between quality, ethics, and price that we now consider optimal. For example, we could reduce the percentage of nylon in its composition, but that would make it much less durable.
Techniques That Ensure Quality
Wool-nylon blend
We use a wrap-spun yarn: the polyamide (which is more durable) wraps around the wool (which is more delicate) to protect it. Compared to a very high-quality 100% merino model, our T-shirt pills less (a score of 4 vs. 3—see the lab test results here ), and it takes three times longer for holes to appear (45,000 cycles vs. 14,000—see the test results here ).
Wool-nylon blend
Pre-wash
Pre-wash
This T-shirt has been stabilized and pre-washed at the factory so it won't shrink when you wash it at home.
Wool-nylon blend
Pre-wash
The T-shirt for Busy Days
Knitted from a very fine, machine-washable wool, this T-shirt absorbs very little odor, doesn’t itch, doesn’t wrinkle, and won’t lose its shape. It’s also three times more durable than 100% wool, because we’ve protected the fiber by encasing it in nylon. A T-shirt perfect for travel and stressful days.
In detail
Fluid material
Even though this T-shirt has a fairly high weight for wool (170 g/m²), it isn't stiff at all and drapes naturally on your body.
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 properly.
Printed logo
To avoid tags that scratch the neck and seams that damage the fabric.
How to Wear It
A few ideas if you're stuck
Composition
80% wool, 20% nylon.
Origin and Certifications
- Manufacturing, knitting, dyeing: Portugal
- Spinning: China
- Wool: South Africa
...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% merino T-shirts made in France, like Ogarun.
... does the yarn come from so far away? To make this T-shirt, we use a very special yarn: very fine merino wool wrapped in polyamide and treated to be machine-washable. We would have preferred a spinning mill closer to home, but we haven't (yet) found this quality of yarn anywhere else.
... does the wool come from so far away? Extra-fine merino wool always comes from far away: mainly from China, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina. We buy the yarn directly, so we can't choose where the wool comes from.
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.
The T-shirt will remain in very good condition. Thanks to the merino wool, we haven’t received any reports of it losing its shape. And thanks to the polyamide, to date, no one has ever reported any holes or pilling.
The collar may crease slightly in some places: this is a behavior we’ve observed in all other merino T-shirts on the market, and we don’t think we can improve this aspect. To straighten it out, just give it a quick press with an iron.
The color will lose some of its depth with washing. The good news is that, since this happens evenly, it doesn’t give the shirt a worn-out look—just a less intense color. To slow down this process, be sure to wash the T-shirt inside out.
Finally, we’ve had a few cases of slight discoloration under the armpits with this T-shirt: certain types of acidic sweat “attack” the dye on the wool. This discoloration can occur with any color, but it seems to happen most often with the orange color.
Care Instructions
The first time you put it on, you might feel like the T-shirt is a little prickly or scratchy. Don't worry—your skin will get used to it very quickly, and that sensation will go away soon.
Wool is naturally antifungal and antibacterial: it retains very little odor. So there’s no need to wash this T-shirt too often. Often, just airing it out is enough.
It’s machine-washable at 30°C: the wool has been treated to minimize felting and prevent the T-shirt from shrinking three sizes. But BE CAREFUL: if you’ve chosen the pale yellow color, be sure to wash your T-shirt with other light-colored clothes if you don’t want it to change color (wool absorbs so-called “fugitive” dyes much more readily than cotton).
Do not use a dryer to prevent shrinkage, but don’t hang it on a hanger to dry either: your damp T-shirt is heavy and could lose its shape under the weight of the water. The best option is a clothesline.
Is pilling appearing in areas of friction? It can happen. Inthis article, we explain how to effectively remove pilling from your clothes.
And if your T-shirt loses its shape, we’ll show youherehow to easily fix the problem using just your iron.
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 merino T-shirt therefore has an environmental cost of 856 impact points*.
By comparison, a garment of equivalent weight, made of 100% polyester, manufactured in Bangladesh, and sold by a fast-fashion brand has an environmental cost of 1,201 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 emit methane—a potent 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 polyester, 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.