Made locally
The factories we work with and what we look for in them.
What we won't show you
The following information creates a smokescreen around the real working conditions.
Photos of workers smiling.
This page used to feature close-ups of seamstresses* and stories about the traditional know-how of each factory. Except those pretty photos and lovely stories don't tell you much about working conditions. Let's be honest, you only ever show what you want to show.
Social labels and audits**.
They were invented for those who outsource their production to the other side of the world. They let brands off the hook, and the many scandals in the textile industry have proven that they don't work.
The salary or the working hours.
What's the point? The vast majority of textile workers put in the maximum legal hours and earn the minimum wage*** of the country where they're based. And we're far too small to be able to change that.
We only show what really matters.
The country of manufacture
The best guarantee for the environment and working conditions is a law that offers enough protection. In France or Portugal, no factory can dump chemicals into a river and get away with it, working hours are regulated, and minimum wages are enough to cover workers' basic needs (which really isn't the case everywhere).
The number of employees
You can make excellent-quality clothing with a few dozen employees: for us, there's no point in working with mega-factories that have several hundred or even thousands of workers. In our experience, the bigger the factory, the less humane its working conditions, and the more it concentrates wealth in the hands of a few.
The date of our last visit
If we don't go and see the factories for real, we'll never know whether the boss yells at the workers or is drunk during working hours (yes, we've seen that before). And going to see them often lets us check that the work isn't being subcontracted, understand each other better, and guarantee the quality of what we make.
How long we've been working together
If we jumped from one factory to another every other day just because someone offered us 10 cents less per piece somewhere else, we'd never manage to build a long-term relationship and make progress together.
If we really did choose the factory
When you choose a factory, you agree to work with its network of partners (which you therefore don't pick directly). You're not going to ask a factory to stop working with the laundry across the street.
Every step of the manufacturing process
Often, brands only refer to the last link in the chain: basically, where the garment is cut and sewn. Except there are plenty of factories involved before that: the production of the cotton or wool, the spinning, the weaving, the knitting, the dyeing… Displaying them on this page pushes us to choose them carefully, or at least to go and have a look.
List of factories
Our French factories
We do our best to work with factories in France. Sometimes we manage to offer reasonable prices while manufacturing entirely within France: this is the case with our socks, our beanies, our scarves, our belts, some of our sweaters, our care products, our packaging... For others of our clothes, it's just the fabrics that are made in France (our chinos, some of our overshirts or our swim shorts, for example).
Atelier Joly
Atelier Joly
At Atelier Joly, our socks are knitted and then linked by hand. Myriam Joly (the owner) started out raising angora goats. Today, her factory processes part of France's wool production. This factory is certified as an Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (a French label for companies with rare, traditional craftsmanship).
Location: Burlats
Number of employees: 45
Who chose the factory: we did
First production together: January 2019
Last visit: July 2021
Wildlife
Wildlife
Manon Catala and her workshop Faune craft our men's belts and our women's belts. Having worked with other belt workshops before, we appreciate the quality of everything that passes through Manon's hands.
Location: Sémalens, in southwest France
Number of employees : 5
Who chose the factory: we did
First production together: February 2020
Last visit: July 2021
Jean Ruiz Knitwear Manufacture
Jean Ruiz Knitwear Manufacture
The Jean Ruiz Knitwear Manufacture specialises in flat knitting. They are the ones who knit and make our beanies, our scarves and our made in France sweater,
Location: Roanne, France
Number of employees : Between 50 and 100
Who chose the factory: we did
First production together: July 2023
Last visit: Not visited
Solf
Solf
SOLF makes our sunglasses... and those of quite a few big French brands. This little factory and its very friendly team are based near Evreux, in Normandy, northern France: to go and visit them, we take public transport, which is rather handy.
Location: Guichainville, in northern France
Number of employees: 70
Who chose the factory: we did
First production together: January 2024
Last visit: October 2024
Our factories in Western Europe
Most of the factories we work with are not in France, but in Europe and especially in Portugal. Of course, producing in Portugal allows us to sell at lower prices. But it's also easier to achieve good quality there: in the 1980s, when France offshored its industry, Portugal strengthened its own. On top of that, it's a country where wages allow people to live with dignity: since 2025, the local minimum wage has exceeded 1,000 euros gross. We also work a little with Italy, notably to make our denims and our wool fabrics: in these two industries (and in pasta), the Italians have a know-how that is unique in the world.
5D
5D
5D makes our chinos, shorts, women's trousers and our jeans. It was a tiny factory when we started working together; today it makes clothes for well-known brands with great quality.
Location: Esmeriz, Portugal
Number of employees : 110 people
Who chose the factory: we did
First production together: January 2019
Last visit: June 2026
A.J.Goncalves
A.J.Goncalves
Andrade & Amaro
Andrade & Amaro
Andrade & Amaro knits the fabric of our t-shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and joggers.
Location: Areias, Portugal
Number of employees : Unknown
Who chose the factory: our supplier Triwool did
First production together: October 2017
Last visit: April 2018
Barcel Bordados
Barcel Bordados
Barcel Bordados makes our caps.
Location: Vilar do Monte, Portugal
Number of employees: 80 people
Who chose the factory: we did
First production together: March 2026
Last visit: June 2026
Be Simple
Be Simple
Be Simple makes our swimwear. And we're lucky to have found them: very few factories have the know-how to make this kind of piece in Europe, most brands have it done in North Africa or Asia.
Location: Paredes, Portugal
Number of employees : 60 people
Who chose the factory : we did
First production together: March 2021
Latest visit: April 2022
Brito & Miranda
Brito & Miranda
The fabric of our boxer briefs and our briefs is knitted in this circular knitting factory.
Location: Braga, Portugal
Number of employees : Unknown
Who chose the factory : our supplier JoBarros
First production together: April 2020
Last visit: July 2021
Eigui
Eigui
Eigui makes our men's joggers and soon our women's joggers, our fleece shorts and our men's sweatshirt. What sets them apart is that they knit the fabric and make up the pieces in the same place, which gives them great control over the process.
Location: Ponte, Portugal
Number of employees : between 50 and 100
Who chose the factory : we did
First production together: February 2022
Last visit: February 2025
Elmate
Elmate
Elmate is a specialist in "flat knitting". They are the ones who knit and make our merino wool sweaters (thick sweater, roll-neck, warm sweater and classic sweater), our light cotton sweater and our textured sweater.
Location: Arões (Santa Cristina), Portugal
Number of employees : Between 50 and 250
Who chose the factory : we did
First production together: October 2018
Last visit: February 2025
FLAJ
FLAJ
FLAJ is the factory that makes our sneakers.
Location: Felgueiras, Portugal
Number of employees : Between 50 and 100
Who chose the factory : our agent Herminio
First production together: August 2022
Last visit: July 2024
Inovafil
Inovafil
Inovafil spins the cotton used for our marled polo shirts, t-shirts and hoodies. It's a very modern factory, with a very good teacher for a boss: it was with him that we understood all the subtle differences between "open end", "ringspun" and "compact" spinning.
Location: Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal
Number of employees : 50 people
Who chose the factory : our supplier Triwool
First production together: September 2018
Last visit: April 2022
J.F. Almeida
J.F. Almeida
J.F. Almeida is the factory that produces our towels.
Location: Moreira de Conegos, Portugal
Number of employees: Between 50 and 100
Who chose the factory: our agent José
First production together: August 2024
Last visit: February 2025
JoBarros
JoBarros
JoBarros is the factory that makes our boxer briefs and our briefs. The owner is very proud of these boxer briefs we developed together — he told us he wears them every day.
Location: Guimarães, Portugal
Number of employees : 40 people
Who chose the factory : we did
First production together: June 2020
Last visit: February 2025
Lanca
Lanca
Lanca is the factory that produces our wool flannel trousers.
Location: Vales do Rio, Portugal
Number of employees : Between 50 and 100
Who chose the factory : we did
First production together: April 2024
Last visit: February 2025
Luis Azevedo & Filhos
Luis Azevedo & Filhos
Matias & Araújo knits and dyes the fabric of our tank tops.
Location: Guimarães, Portugal
Number of employees : More than 100
Who chose the factory : our supplier Triwool
First production together: April 2022
Last visit: Not visited
Marfel
Marfel
Marfel makes our wool overshirt and our jacket.
Location: Felgueiras, Portugal
Number of employees : Between 10 and 50
Who chose the factory : we did
First production together: November 2023
Last visit: June 2026
Matias & Araújo
Matias & Araújo
Matias & Araújo knits and dyes the fabric for our merino T-shirts.
Monte campo
Monte campo
Monte Campo makes our backpack. And we're lucky to have found them: very few factories have the know-how to make this kind of piece in Europe, and most brands have it done in Asia.
Location: Guimarães, Portugal
Number of employees : 10 people
Who chose the factory: our agent Herminio
First production together: March 2023
Last visit: July 2024
Morgado
Morgado
Morgado is the factory that produces the fabric used for our overshirt.
Location: Pera, Portugal
Number of employees : Between 50 and 100
Who chose the factory : we did
First production together: November 2023
Last visit: Not visited
Palomares Piel
Palomares Piel
Palomares Piel is the tannery behind the outer leather on our sneakers. They use a classic (chrome) tanning process.
Location: Alicante, Spain
Number of employees : Unknown
Who chose the factory : we did
First production together: June 2020
Last visit: Not visited
Sampleite Footwear
Sampleite Footwear
Sampleite Calçado is the factory that handles the assembly, finishing and packaging of our derby shoes.
Location: Varziela, Portugal
Number of employees: 60 people
Who chose the factory: our agent Herminio
First production together: July 2026
Last visit: June 2026
Somelos
Somelos
Somelos is the company that handles the spinning, dyeing and weaving of the fabric for our various shirts and for our boxer shorts. It's one of the only shirt fabric manufacturers we've found that produces in Europe and is able to offer organic cotton fabrics at reasonable prices and with flawless quality.
Location: Ronfe, Portugal
Number of employees : More than 250
Who chose the factory : we did
First production together: November 2016
Last visit: February 2023
Supercorte
Supercorte
Supercorte is the workshop that makes our shirts. We started working together after running into ethical and quality setbacks with other factories, and ever since we've admired the precise, high-quality work done there.
Location: Meixomil, Portugal
Number of employees : 190 people
Who chose the factory : we did
First production together: January 2019
Last visit: July 2024
Tearfil
Tearfil
Tearfil is the mill that spins the yarn for our tank top.
Location: Moreira de Cónegos, Portugal
Number of employees : More than 100
Who chose the factory : it was our supplier Triwool
First production together: April 2022
Last visit: Not visited
Trifitrofa
Trifitrofa
Trifitrofa spins and dyes the cotton for our textured sweater.
Location: Trofa, Portugal
Number of employees : Between 100 and 250
Who chose the factory : it was us
First production together: February 2023
Last visit: Not visited
Triwool
Triwool
Triwool makes our t-shirts (men's and women's), polo, sweatshirts (men's and women's), hoodies and joggers. What sets them apart is how well they control the measurements, despite the pre-washing step we ask for: this means factoring in the shrinkage before making the garment.
Location: Braga, Portugal
Number of employees: between 50 and 100
Who chose the factory: we did
First production together: October 2017
Latest visit: June 2026
Our factories elsewhere in the world
The goal would be to have almost no factories in this section, because these are countries where 1- wages in textile factories don't allow for a decent living 2- the production processes are more polluting than in Western Europe, particularly in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. But for the factories below, we have no choice. To our knowledge, only China has the machinery needed to make our belt buckles and the technical yarns of our merino t-shirt. To find cotton spinning mills with the "compact" technology we need, the closest is Turkey. Finally, the prestigious Italian wool spinning mills Biella and Tollegno have relocated their production to Eastern Europe, and there's not much we can do about it.
Hangzhou Yuhui Trading Co
Hangzhou Yuhui Trading Co
Hangzhou Yuhui Trading Co makes the buckle for our belts. Since 2020, we've been trying to find a more local supplier, but with no luck: as far as we know, nobody in Europe makes stainless steel buckles anymore.
Location: Hangzhou, China
Number of employees : Unknown
Who chose the factory : our supplier Faune did
First production together: February 2020
Last visit: Not visited
Xinao Textile
Xinao Textile
Xinao Textile spins the wool / polyamide blend used for our merino t-shirts.
Location: Tongxiang, China
Number of employees : More than 250
Who chose the factory: our supplier Triwool
First production together: April 2022
Last visit: Not visited
* We say seamstresses because women make up 80% of the workforce in the textile sector.
** We're talking about textile social audits like BSCI. NGOs have shown that these labels don't improve workers' working conditions: they shift responsibility away from brands, and the many scandals in the textile industry have proven them ineffective. Even so, there are trustworthy labels, such as GOTS or Fairtrade.
*** For example, 90% of the women workers in Portugal earn the minimum wage.