The classic sweater
Released in October 2024
It's still the first generation of this sweater. But we didn't start from scratch: we use the same fabric and the same type of stitching as for the men's thick sweater, which we've been improving continuously since 2017.
Wool keeps you warm because it traps nearly 80% air within its fibres. For this garment, we use a fine merino wool: with a diameter of just 19.5 microns, it makes a sweater that's soft as well as warm.
Our wool comes from Tollegno 1900, a well-known Italian spinning mill.
Sweater made to keep you warm: it weighs about 500g in a size M
The wool is treated so it can go in the machine without shrinking. We still recommend using the wool cycle, or better yet, just airing it out now and then (wool doesn't need to be washed).
This sweater is made in Portugal, at the Elmate factory we've been working with since 2018.
Worn, tested and approved by thousands of customers, this sweater is the result of a quality-ethics-price balance that we consider optimal today. For instance, we could opt for a more natural virgin wool, but then this sweater might felt in the wash.
The techniques behind the quality
Sewn seams
Generally, "fully fashion" sweaters knitted in shaped panels (like ours) are joined by linking, a technique where the stitches are re-knitted together one by one. We prefer to assemble ours with seams: in our experience, this stops the seams from splitting at the shoulders or underarms.
Sewn seams
Total Easy Care treatment
Knitted as tightly as possible
Pre-washed
Total Easy Care treatment
With water, friction and heat, untreated wool shrinks and compacts (we say it "felts"). At the microscopic level, this happens because the scales of the fibre catch onto one another. To prevent this, a Total Easy Care treatment is applied, also known as Superwash or KROY-ERCOSETT. The principle: the fibre's scales are oxidised, then a very fine resin is applied that forms a continuous film, which stops the fibres from catching and therefore stops the wool from felting.
This treatment, if carried out in countries with low environmental standards, can be polluting. That's why we source ours from a factory based in Italy that's known for its high environmental standards (Oeko-Tex 100 and 4S CHEM certification, more info here).
If you prefer sweaters made from virgin wool (meaning untreated) and don't mind washing them by hand, take a look at our high-neck sweater.
Sewn seams
Total Easy Care treatment
Knitted as tightly as possible
Pre-washed
Knitted as tightly as possible
The stitch is knitted as tightly as possible. This uses more yarn and therefore costs more, but it keeps pilling to a minimum and gives the sweater more structure.
Sewn seams
Total Easy Care treatment
Knitted as tightly as possible
Pre-washed
Pre-washed
This sweater is pre-washed at the factory (before it's sewn, while it's still in panel form).
Sewn seams
Total Easy Care treatment
Knitted as tightly as possible
Pre-washed
The sweater that plays it safe.
No risk of getting cold with its nice and thick 100% wool material. No risk of it being itchy, thanks to the extra-fine merino wool fibres. And no risk of “OH NO IT SHRANK 3 SIZES”: our wool is treated so it won't felt in the wash.
In detail
Classic fit
The cut follows the line of the body without clinging. And because wool is naturally stretchy, this sweater fits every body shape.
Jersey stitch
A smooth stitch that limits snags and pilling.
"Fully fashioned" knitting
Also called "fully fashioned": the panels (back, front, sleeves and collar) are knitted directly to the right shape to avoid wasting wool.
How to wear it
A few ideas if you're stuck
Composition
100% wool
Origin and certifications
- Wool: Australia
- Spinning and dyeing: Poland
- Knitting, making-up and pre-washing: Portugal
... not wool from French sheep? Because it's sadly less fine than wool from the southern hemisphere, and because the French supply chain has almost completely disappeared. We explain all of this in more detail on this page.
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.
This sweater will hardly ever wear through at the elbows and barely lose its shape, thanks to wool's natural elasticity. The biggest risk with this wool sweater is moths, if they decide to move into your wardrobe!
Care instructions
Wool is fungicidal and bactericidal: it doesn't hold onto smells. So there's no need to wash the sweater. If needed, just air it out.
If you really insist, your sweater is machine washable: we've given it a "Total easy care" treatment to reduce felting and stop it from shrinking three sizes. But use a wool cycle: it may still shrink a little on a standard 30 °C cycle. Use a special wool detergent if possible – the enzymes in regular detergents can eat away at wool. But no big deal if you don't have any, there's no real risk in small amounts. After three wash tests with regular and special wool detergents, we found no difference in softness or fragility on our sweaters.
No tumble dryer, to avoid shrinking it, but don't dry it on a hanger either: your wet sweater is heavy and could lose its shape under the weight of the water. The best thing for its lifespan is to dry it flat, on a drying rack or a towel.
If a hole ever starts to form at the elbow (some people have slightly pointy ones :), take it quickly to a tailor to have it mended. It usually costs less than 10 euros. If it's too late, you can also try elbow patches. Same goes if a thread gets pulled: don't cut it, take it to a tailor to limit the damage.
Are little bobbles appearing in the areas that rub? It happens. We explain in this article how to remove pilling from your clothes effectively.
If the ends of your sweater start to stretch out, we explain here how to fix this easily using nothing but your iron.
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 production "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 industry, this label should soon appear on many everyday consumer products (food, cosmetics, furniture, etc.) to help you shop more responsibly.
The classic sweater therefore has an environmental cost of 2595 impact points*.
By comparison, a garment of equivalent weight, 100% acrylic, made in Bangladesh and sold by a fast fashion brand, has an environmental cost of 3181 points*.
Why the difference? Here are the main reasons:
- The production countries: manufacturing 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 impacts on climate change, ocean acidification and resource depletion.
- The material: wool has a fairly significant environmental impact, notably because sheep release methane when they digest, a gas with a strong greenhouse effect. That's why the difference between our product's impact and that of fast fashion isn't very large. That said, unlike acrylic, wool has major advantages: it's warm (thanks to its insulating properties), keeps its shape (the fibre is very elastic), breathable (it wicks away sweat) and odour-resistant (it prevents bacteria from developing).
- Durability: fast fashion brands push people to buy, notably by renewing their collections extremely quickly and offering a huge number of styles, and they discourage repairs by charging ridiculously low prices. 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 for as long as possible.
Even though we've done everything we can to keep it as low as possible, the environmental impact of this product is not 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 on 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.