The briefs
Released in November 2021
It's still the first generation of our knickers, but we didn't start from scratch — we use the same fabric as our men's boxer briefs, on sale since 2020.
On the latest production runs, we've raised the waist slightly because some customers found it sat too low.
What makes this Egyptian cotton special: fibres that are very long for strength (over 3.6 cm, compared with a 2.5 cm average) and very fine for softness.
We tested our fabric's "abrasion resistance" in the lab and it earned the best marks: breakage at 35,000 cycles vs. 20 to 30,000 cycles for the other fabrics tested.
No rough fabric, no scratchy label, no elastic that digs into your thighs and no fabric that rides up your bum.
These briefs are made in the Portuguese factory Jobarros, which we've been working with since 2020.
Worn, tested and approved by thousands of customers, these knickers are the result of a quality-ethics-price balance that we consider optimal today.
For example, we could choose a thicker elastic, but it would be less comfortable to wear.
The techniques behind the quality
Combed cotton
Cotton with its short fibres removed by "combing" it: softer and more durable than regular cotton.
Combed cotton
Two-ply yarn
Dense fabric
Pre-washed
Two-ply yarn
We twisted two threads together like you would make a cable (that's what's called "two-ply"). So holes take longer to appear in high-friction areas (i.e. at the crotch).
Combed cotton
Two-ply yarn
Dense fabric
Pre-washed
Dense fabric
Fairly high weight of 220g/m2 to delay the appearance of holes.
Combed cotton
Two-ply yarn
Dense fabric
Pre-washed
Pre-washed
These knickers are stabilised and pre-washed at the factory so they won't shrink at home (with cotton garments, the bulk of shrinkage happens during the first wash).
Combed cotton
Two-ply yarn
Dense fabric
Pre-washed
To wear for a long time
This organic cotton brief is soft, thanks to the fineness of Egyptian cotton, and hard-wearing: to hold off holes for longer, we used a double-twisted yarn (two yarns twisted together like a cable). It's comfortable (no scratchy label, no elastic digging into your thighs, no fabric riding up your butt). And it's cut just right, neither too high nor too low — the happy medium between Pamela Anderson and Mother Teresa.
In detail
Thin waistband
To avoid cutting into your skin and leaving marks under trousers
Refined neckline
So it won't ride up between your cheeks or cover too much.
Crotch gusset
A rectangular piece of fabric between the front and back of the briefs that keeps them from feeling too tight
Printed logo
To avoid scratchy labels in the back and attachment seams that damage the fabric.
Composition
Main fabric: 96% cotton, 4% elastane
Waistband: 68% polyamide, 19% polyester, 12% elastane
Origin and certifications
- Cotton and spinning: Egypt
- Knitting, dyeing and manufacturing: Portugal
... made in Portugal and not in France? Of course, producing in Portugal lets us sell at a lower price. But it's also easier to achieve good quality there: in the 80s, when France offshored its industry, Portugal strengthened its own. That said, others do manage to make things 100% in France, like Le Slip Français.
... the cotton comes from so far away? Actually, it's hard to get any closer. While a few die-hard Gauls manage to grow some in their fields, cotton farming is marginal in Europe. The nearest places to source it are Egypt, Turkey and Greece.
How this product will age
How do we know? We ask our customers what they think of the product one year after they've bought it. And if the product is less than a year old, we give you our predictions based on some spontaneous feedback and on our experience with similar products.
The knickers will stay in great condition, will lose very little of their shape and won't wear through any time soon (on the boxer briefs, which use the same fabric, only a small handful of customers have reported holes after several years of wear). That said, like all cotton garments, they'll lose a little of their softness and sheen with washing.
Care instructions
They can go in the machine at 40 degrees, but it's better to wash them at 30: it's just as effective, far greener, and it will make them last longer. And inside out if possible, to better preserve the colours.
For longevity and to be kinder to the environment, the ideal is to air-dry them on a rack. But sometimes you don't have a choice: if you need to use a tumble dryer, do it on low heat (i.e. on a delicate or synthetic setting) to keep the elastane in the waistband and the knit from losing its stretch and to avoid damaging the fibres too much.
If the briefs look a little shiny at first, that's normal too: this slightly silky appearance comes from the fineness of the cotton fibres, which give them their softness and durability. But don't worry, this shine tends to fade wash after wash.
Lastly, if it pills a little against your skin the first few times you wear it, that's normal: it will disappear completely after a few washes.
Environmental cost
This environmental cost is calculated using the official methodology of the French environmental labelling scheme (in force since 1 October 2025).
The label above shows the product's environmental cost according to the official methodology of the French environmental labelling scheme. It's what its manufacture "costs" nature when you look at its impact on climate change, ocean acidification, its toxicity for freshwater, and so on. Currently rolled out in the textile sector, this label should soon appear on many everyday consumer products (food, cosmetics, furniture, etc.) to help you shop more responsibly.
The knickers therefore have an environmental cost of 95 impact points*.
By comparison, a garment of equivalent weight, 100% conventional cotton, made in Bangladesh and sold by a fast fashion brand, has an environmental cost of 321 points*.
Why the difference? Here are the main reasons:
- The countries of production: making clothes in Portugal or France requires less fossil fuel than in Bangladesh (one of the main producers of low-cost clothing). The result: this more local production limits the impact on climate change, ocean acidification and resource depletion.
- The fabric: organic cotton has a fairly low environmental impact compared with conventional cotton, in particular because it uses few pesticides (so low toxicity for freshwater) and because it's biodegradable (so fewer issues with microfibres or end-of-life waste).
- Durability: fast fashion brands drive purchases in particular by refreshing their collections very quickly and offering a huge number of styles, and they discourage repairs by charging next to nothing. This increases the number of garments sold per person and reduces the number of times a garment is worn. At Loom, we've taken the opposite path: we've chosen business practices that encourage our customers to keep their clothes as long as possible.
Even though we've done everything we can to keep it as low as possible, this product's environmental impact isn't negligible. So before you buy, make your clothes last as long as you can.
*Calculations performed by Loom on 31/08/2026. Click the links to access the simulations from the official Ecobalyse tool and get more details about the assumptions used. Please note: the number of points is not always exactly the same on Ecobalyse (whose method evolves regularly) as on the official environmental labelling (based on version 7.0 of Ecobalyse)
Reviews for this product
The standard practice is to send review request e-mails a few days after the purchase. We wait a month, the minimum time needed to form a well-informed opinion
Customer review policy
When do you ask customers for reviews?
We send you a review request one month after you receive your order. We reckon that's the minimum amount of time needed to have worn and washed a garment several times and to really form a well-informed opinion. After that, all your reviews are published within the week, whether they're good or not.
Do you ask for reviews on 100% of the products customers order?
We used to do that at first, then we realised we were starting to send far too many emails to some people who buy from us regularly. In short, we were spamming a bit. On top of that, it was starting to take up way too much of the team's time to reply to reviews - since we want to reply individually and privately to almost every person 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 shown on the site for people who want to buy to form a well-informed opinion about the product 2/ We've read enough reviews within the Loom team to understand how to improve the product for the next generation.
Hold your horses: what proves we don't tamper with reviews by slapping 5 stars everywhere?
Honestly: nothing, we're just giving you our word. Same as for everything else, by the way: where we manufacture, where our wool comes from, our lab test scores, and so on. The only times we might touch what you write are if your message contains spelling mistakes (and even then, quite a few slip past us) or if it's racist, homophobic, and so on (but that's never happened so far).
Asking for a review after a month isn't enough to know whether the clothes really are durable, is it?
You're right, which is why we send you another review request email a year after your purchase – we even ask for a photo to see how your garment has aged. The answers help us improve our clothes and provide information about "how this product will age" on our product pages. To avoid bothering our customers needlessly, we don't ask for these reviews on 100% of the products ordered: as soon as we have enough data to understand the areas for improvement, we stop asking for the one-year reviews.